Malawi national cricket team
Cricket team
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The Malawian national cricket team is the men's team that represents Malawi in international cricket.
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| Association | Cricket Malawi | |||||||||
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| Personnel | ||||||||||
| Captain | Gift Kansonkho | |||||||||
| Coach | Andre Botha | |||||||||
| International Cricket Council | ||||||||||
| ICC status | Associate member[1] (2003) | |||||||||
| ICC region | Africa | |||||||||
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| International cricket | ||||||||||
| First international | 21 March 2004 v Gambia at Willowmoore Park, Benoni, South Africa | |||||||||
| T20 Internationals | ||||||||||
| First T20I | v  Mozambique at Lilongwe Golf Club, Lilongwe; 6 November 2019 | |||||||||
| Last T20I | v  Rwanda at TCA Oval, Blantyre; 16 August 2026 | |||||||||
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| T20 World Cup Qualifier appearances | 1[a] (first in 2025) | |||||||||
| Best result | 7th place (2025) | |||||||||
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| As of 16 August 2026 | ||||||||||
History
Malawi was previously a member of the East and Central Africa Cricket Conference, which was a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) from 1989 to 2003 and fielded the East and Central Africa cricket team in the ICC Trophy.
From the 1970s, Malawi played regular international tournaments against other East and Central African teams, and occasionally against touring teams from England.[5]
In 2002 Malawi participated in the Africa Cup in which 10 nations took part. Malawi came last in the group, losing all 4 matches.
They became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2003[6] and an associate member in 2017.[1] Their international debut came the following year in the African affiliates championship, where they came fourth. They participated in the equivalent tournament in 2006, Division Three of the African region of the World Cricket League, once again coming fourth.[7]
In October 2009 Malawi hosted the WCL Africa Div 3 tournament, beating all participants to win the tournament. They were promoted to WCL Africa Division 2 for the next tournament in Benoni, SA. They struggled at this level and finished last.
2018–present
In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Malawi and other ICC members since 1 January 2019 have the full T20I status.[8]
Malawi played their first T20I on 6 November 2019, against Mozambique, during the 2019 T20 Kwacha Cup.
Grounds
Squad
This lists all the players who have played for Malawi in the past 12 months or have been part of the latest T20I squad. Updated as of 6 July 2024
| Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | ||||
| Donnex Kansonkho | 27 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Gift Kansonkho | 27 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Chisomo Malaya | 21 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Beston Masauko | 22 | Right-handed | ||
| Francis Nkhoma | 28 | Right-handed | ||
| All-rounders | ||||
| Sami Sohail | 24 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Aaftab Limdawala | 22 | Left-handed | Right-arm leg break | Vice-captain |
| Moazzam Baig | 41 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Captain |
| Gershom Ntambalika | 31 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||
| Phillip Zuze | 19 | Right-handed | ||
| Chisomo Chete | 32 | Right-handed | ||
| Spin Bowlers | ||||
| Suhail Vayani | 18 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Mike Choamba | 22 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Pace Bowlers | ||||
| Daniel Jakiel | 35 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| Blessings Pondani | 24 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
| Bright Balala | 19 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
Records and statistics
International Match Summary — Malawi[9]
Last updated 16 August 2026
| Playing Record | ||||||
| Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twenty20 Internationals | 75 | 35 | 37 | 0 | 3 | 6 November 2019 |
Twenty20 International
- Highest team total: 185/2 v Lesotho on 25 November 2022 at Gahanga International Cricket Stadium, Kigali.[10]
- Highest individual score: 96*, Sami Sohail v Rwanda on 26 July 2025 at Gahanga International Cricket Stadium, Kigali.[11]
- Best individual bowling figures: 6/8, Kelvin Thuchila v Eswatini on 27 March 2026 at Achimota Oval B, Accra.[12]
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Most T20I runs for Malawi[13]
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Most T20I wickets for Malawi[14]
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T20I record versus other nations[9]
Records complete to T20I #4080. Last updated 16 August 2026.
| Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs Associate Members | |||||||
 Bahrain | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 July 2025 | |
 Botswana | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20 November 2022 | 20 November 2022 |
 Cameroon | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 September 2022 | 15 September 2022 |
 Eswatini | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 October 2021 | 17 October 2021 |
 Germany | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 July 2025 | 10 July 2025 |
 Ghana | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 October 2021 | 22 September 2024 |
 Kenya | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 16 September 2022 | 28 September 2025 |
 Lesotho | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 October 2021 | 22 October 2021 |
 Mali | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 November 2022 | 21 November 2022 |
| Mozambique | 9 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 November 2019 | 6 November 2019 |
 Namibia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 September 2025 | |
 Nigeria | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 September 2025 | |
| Rwanda | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 22 October 2021 | 22 October 2021 |
 Saint Helena | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 November 2022 | 24 November 2022 |
 Seychelles | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 October 2021 | 20 October 2021 |
 Tanzania | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 September 2022 | |
 Uganda | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 October 2021 | |
 Zambia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 August 2026 | 11 August 2026 |
Other records
For a list of selected international matches played by Malawi, see Cricket Archive.
Tournament history
T20 World Cup Africa Regional Final
| T20 World Cup Africa Regional Final record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
| 2019 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2021 | ||||||||
| 2022 | ||||||||
 2025 | Group stage | 7/8 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 1/4 | 0 Title | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
ACA Africa T20 Cup
Other tournaments
| WCL African region (List A) | T20WC Africa Sub-regional Qualifiers (T20I) |
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See also
Notes
- T20 World Cup Qualifier refers to the Regional Final of the ICC Africa region from the 2023 edition.