Brian Bennett and JJ Smit emerged as key figures for their respective teams, Zimbabwe and Namibia, in the recent qualifying matches held in Harare.
The national teams of Namibia and Zimbabwe have successfully qualified for the 2026 Men`s T20 World Cup, joining South Africa, which secured direct entry. Zimbabwe achieved a confident victory over Kenya in the second semi-final of the ICC African Qualifiers in Harare. Earlier, Namibia had smoothly defeated Tanzania in their semi-final match at the same venue.
Zimbabwe`s Triumph Over Kenya
Zimbabwe 123/3 (Bennett 51, Vraj 2-29) beat Kenya 122/6 (Rakep 65, Muzarabani 2-19) by seven wickets.
After Zimbabwe`s bowlers restricted Kenya to 122 runs for 6 wickets, the hosts confidently chased down the target in 15 overs with seven wickets to spare. Opening batsmen Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani scored 70 runs together in the first six overs, marking one of Zimbabwe`s best powerplay performances in T20Is. Vraj Patel broke their partnership, dismissing Bennett, who had scored 51 runs off 25 balls. Bennett`s innings featured eight fours and one six, including a remarkable sequence of six fours in the fourth over. He is currently the tournament`s leading scorer with 299 runs in four innings.
Patel also dismissed Marumani, who scored 39 runs off 27 balls, but by then Zimbabwe had already reached 100 runs. Captain Sikandar Raza contributed 10 runs, but Ryan Burl and Tony Munyonga finished the game without further setbacks. Brendan Taylor, who had previously starred, was not needed with the bat on this occasion.
Zimbabwe`s victory was predominantly set up by their bowlers, with Blessing Muzarabani leading the attack with impressive figures of 2 wickets for 19 runs in 4 overs. The only Kenyan player to score more than 20 runs was Rakep Patel, with 65 runs off 47 balls, before being dismissed by Richard Ngarava.
Namibia`s Confident Qualification
Namibia 174/6 (Smit 61*, Erasmus 55, Juma 2-29, Kimote 2-41) beat Tanzania 111/8 (Patwa 31, Smit 3-16, Shikongo 3-21) by 63 runs.
This will mark Namibia`s fourth appearance in the Men`s T20 World Cup, having previously participated in the 2021 (Super 12s), 2022 (group stage), and 2024 (group stage) tournaments.
In their semi-final, after Tanzania captain Kassim Nassoro opted to bowl, Namibia posted a formidable total of 174 runs for 6 wickets, largely due to half-centuries from captain Gerhard Erasmus and JJ Smit.
The start was challenging for Namibia, with four wickets — Jan Frylinck, Malan Kruger, Louren Steenkamp, and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton — falling within the powerplay. However, Erasmus and Smit then combined effectively to quickly score runs, seizing momentum from Tanzania. Erasmus contributed 55 runs off 41 balls, while Smit remained unbeaten with 61 runs off 43 balls, including one four and four sixes.
This strong batting performance gave Namibia the necessary total. Smit once again made an impact, this time with the ball, damaging Tanzania`s top order. He claimed the first two wickets (Arun Yadav and Dhrumit Mehta) off consecutive balls in the sixth over, and later dismissed Mukesh Suthar, finishing with an impressive return of 3 wickets for 16 runs. Ben Shikongo also performed excellently, taking 3 wickets for 21 runs.
Tanzania offered some resistance, but it was insufficient to change the match`s outcome. They finished 63 runs short despite batting out their full quota of overs.
