Kenya upbeat ahead of Denmark match in 2027 Cricket World Cup qualifiers
Kenya's batsman Rakep Patel (right) plays a delivery during ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League A match against Jersey at Ruaraka Sports ground in Nairobi, on September 25, 2024.
What you need to know:
- Kenya will be seeking to extend their recent dominance over Denmark in the match slated for Nairobi Gymkhana.
- The 2027 Cricket World Cup will be co-hosted by South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe in October and November.
A well-rested Kenya side will on Sunday play Denmark at Nairobi Gymkhana in the ongoing 2024-26 Men’s Cricket World Cup Challenge (CWC) League “A” match.
It will be the only match of the day in the One Day International (ODI) tournament, which is the first round of the qualifiers for 2027 Cricket World Cup.
Against Denmark, Kenya will be looking to build on their strong start to the campaign. The hosts defeated Jersey by six wickets at Ruaraka Sports Club Ground on Wednesday.
On Saturday, Kenya’s assistant coach Joseph Angara said they expect a tough clash against Denmark who will be fighting to register their first win in the competition.
Kenya’s captain Shem Ngoche said Denmark should be an easy opponent for them if they maintain their game plan in their win over Jersey.
“If we just keep doing whatever we have done against Jersey, it (the match against Denmark) will not be a tough task for us,” said Ngoche after their win over Jersey.
All-rounder Rakep Patel, who was named the man-of-the-match after shining with both the ball and bat, said Kenya’s top-order batsmen need to improve in their performance.
“One of the top batsmen should score a century so that we get a good partnership and good score on the board,” said Patel, who top-scored in the match with 84 runs and took the most wickets at six.
Against Jersey, Kenya’s top-order batsmen Pushkar Sharma, Neil Mugabe, and Dhiren Gondaria delivered 11, 17, and 14 runs respectively.
The Island nation in Northwestern Europe bounced back from their loss to Kenya with a 168-run victory over Qatar on Wednesday.
Since Wednesday’s match, Kenya has not been in action. In contrast, Denmark has played two matches, losing all of them. Apart from Denmark, Jersey was the only other side that had played two matches by Friday evening.
After losing by two wickets to Kuwait at Nairobi Gymkhana on Wednesday, Denmark fell by six wickets to PNG the following day at Ruaraka Sports Club Ground.
In the match that bowls off at 9am, Kenya will also be seeking to extend their recent dominance over the Europeans.
Kenya thrashed Denmark by eight wickets in an International Cricket Council Emerging Nations Tournament (ODI) held in Harare, Zimbabwe on April 13, 2000.
In their next meeting in an ICC World Cup Group “B” qualifier (ODI) in South Africa on April 8, 2009, Kenya again thrashed Denmark by nine wickets.
The 2027 Cricket World Cup will be co-hosted by South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe in October and November.
Kuwait, Qatar, Jersey, and Papua New Guinea (PNG) are the other teams competing in the tournament in Nairobi.
The teams will play each other once, with the top two sides from the group at the end of three rounds - one played each year until 2026 - securing a spot in the play-offs of the World Cup qualifiers.
