The 2001 ICC Africa Under-19 Championship was a cricket tournament held in Uganda from January 5-9, 2001. All matches were played in the capital Kampala.

The tournament was a round-robin, with five teams playing each other once. Namibia finished first, ahead of a combined East and Central Africa side, and consequently qualified for the 2002 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. Tanzanian batsman Utpal Patel, playing for East and Central Africa, led the tournament in runs scored. Three players, Kenya's Alfred Luseno, Namibia's Michael Durant, and Nigeria's O. Animashaun (playing for West Africa), led the tournament in wickets taken, with nine apiece.

The tournament was the inaugural edition of the ICC Africa Under-19 Championships, which provide a direct qualification route to the Under-19 World Cup for African Cricket Association members. Two other African teams, South Africa and Zimbabwe, are full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and thus qualify automatically. Another edition of the tournament was not held until 2007. Instead, a joint tournament was organised with ICC East Asia-Pacific teams, held on two occasions (in 2003 and 2005).

Teams and qualification Two combined regional teams, East and Central Africa and West Africa, participated in the championship for the first and only time, respectively organised by the East and Central Africa Cricket Conference and the West Africa Cricket Council.Africa Under-19 Championship 2000/01 Table – CricketArchive. Retrieved 11 February 2015. Players from Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia were eligible for East and Central Africa, while players from The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone were eligible for West Africa.(17 December 2000). "Africa: Five teams to contest inaugural under 19 titles next month" – ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 February 2015.

Team Mode of qualification East & Central Africa Qualified Qualified Qualified Qualified West Africa Qualified

Preparation

Table     Qualified for the World Cup. Team 4 3 1 0 0 6 +0.981 East and Central Africa 4 3 1 0 0 6 +0.287 4 2 2 0 0 4 +1.236 4 1 3 0 0 2 +0.295 West Africa 4 1 3 0 0 2 –2.543 Source: CricketArchive

Statistics

Most runs The top five run scorers are included in this table, ranked by runs scored and then by batting average.

Player Team Runs Inns Avg Highest 100s 50s Utpal Patel East and Central Africa 171 4 42.75 66 0 1 Stephan Swanepoel 166 4 83.00 77* 0 2 Hugo Ludik 159 4 53.00 52 0 1 Laurence Sematimba 154 4 38.50 135 1 0 Rajesh Varsani 129 4 32.25 96 0 1 Source: CricketArchive

Most wickets

The top five wicket takers are listed in this table, ranked by wickets taken and then by bowling average. Player Team Overs Wkts Ave SR Econ BBI Alfred Luseno 33.0 9 9.22 22.00 2.51 4/16 Michael Durant 36.0 9 12.88 24.00 3.22 4/23 O. Animashaun West Africa 36.1 9 17.00 24.11 4.23 4/67 Chris Engola 21.0 8 8.50 15.75 3.23 4/18 Dharmin Parmar East and Central Africa 38.2 8 10.37 28.75 2.16 4/18 Source: CricketArchive

References