KAMPALA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Hosts Uganda beat Botswana in the ongoing 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) men's Twenty20 World Cup Africa final qualifiers held here.
In a game played here on Monday, Uganda batted first to put on 142/7, while Botswana who chased collapsed at 90/18.
Uganda emerged winners by 52 runs. "It is good to start with a win and we must be sharper when we face Namibia on Tuesday," Uganda's Coach, Steve Tikolo said.
Arnold Otwani was Uganda's highest scorer with 44 runs, while Hamu Kayondo picked 30 runs and Riazat Ali Shah 24 runs. Botswana's highest run scorer was Vnoo Balakrishnan with 26 runs.
Top seeded Namibia also got off to a winning start against Ghana. Ghana batted first to score 91/7 before the experienced Namibian team chased to score 92/1 to win by a massive 9 wickets and with 55 balls remaining.
Namibia's captain Stephen Baard picked a game high 52 run, while Davin Nikolaas picked 38 runs. The Namibian team now leads the table, while Uganda are second and Kenya third.
The two qualifiers from Africa will join Papua New Guinea, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Oman, Scotland and Zimbabwe in the global qualifier, which takes place Oct. 11-Nov. 3.
Six teams will advance to the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in October next year.