Reality check for Baggy Blues

Mqondisi Dube | Wednesday October 8, 2025 06:33

The team was upbeat upon departure but it failed to register a single win during the difficult competition that saw Namibia and Zimbabwe seal their World Cup spots.

India and Sri Lanka are the hosts of next year's World Cup.

Botswana had hoped to register an upset and qualify for a first ever World Cup final, but met strong opposition after being drawn in the same group as Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

On the opening day, September 26, Botswana fell to a seven-wicket defeat to Tanzania despite the heroics of Vinoo Balakrishnan who blasted 68 runs from 54 balls.

That was due to insufficient support from other batsmen as the Baggy Blues scored 122/6.

The encounter proved a no contest against Zimbabwe in the second group match, as the hosts were too powerful, amassing 259/5 with Botswana struggling to get the runs.

The Stanley Timoni-coached side could only manage 89 runs in their 20 overs in pursuit of the big target.

Tharindu Perera top scored for the Baggy Blues with almost a run-a-ball 31, while Boemo Kgosiemang took two wickets from his four overs.

They however, came at a cost as he conceded 50 runs against a rampant Zimbabwe side.

On September 30, while the nation celebrated Independence Day, the Karabo Motlhanka-led outfit was at the receiving end of an eight wicket defeat to Uganda.

The East Africans inserted Botswana to bat, and the Baggy Blues never got going, with runs difficult to come. Botswana could only manage 81 runs, with Balakrishnan once again the top scorer with 24 runs.

Uganda then secured in the 13th over for the loss of just two wickets.

In the fifth place play-off, Botswana tried hard, but it could only reach 122/7 chasing Nigeria's 166, with Katlo Piet the top batsman with 22. Kgosiemang was once again the pick of the bowlers, returning figures of three for 26 in four overs.

On Saturday, Botswana was left to fight against Malawi for the wooden spoon and again, the Baggy Blues fell short, meaning they finished as the tournament's bottom team from the eight nations that participated.

Malawi won the toss and decided the bat, registering a modest 151/7 but it still proved a bridge too far for the boys in blue, as they folded to 95/9 in their run chase.

Both coach Timoni and his skipper, Motlhanka expressed disappointment with the results. 'It was very sad for us to let the country down by our poor performances as a team. We did not come to the party as we expected to do. Our performances were below par. We are not giving excuses. We are not worried that we played top teams, we should have stepped up and showed a good fight in each match,' Timoni said. Equally, Motlhanka said there were no excuses for the poor showing. 'We are very disappointed with the results and performance. We failed to deal with the challenge we faced from the quality teams we played. We let ourselves down in all the facets of the game. We failed to show aggression with the bat and missed too many chances on the field. Nothing ever came together in any of our matches,' Motlhanka said. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe and Namibia secured the two World Cup tickets, and will join South Africa as the African representatives at the tournament to be held in February.

Zimbabwe emerged as champions after defeating Namibia by seven wickets in the final held on Saturday.