Nairobi: Kenya will host the third and final round of the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Challenge League Group A from October 21 to 31, with the top two teams earning passage to the Qualifier Play-off tournament.
Cricket Kenya will stage the matches at the Nairobi Gymkhana Cricket Ground and the Ruaraka Sports Club ground. The hosts will welcome the national teams of Papua New Guinea, Jersey, Denmark, Kuwait and Qatar for the decisive round, at the end of which the two leading sides from Group A advance to the Qualifier Play-off, to be played with ODI status.
Road to the 2027 World Cup
The Challenge League is a key rung on the qualification ladder for the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Each group plays three single round-robin tournaments between 2024 and 2026, amounting to 15 matches per team. The final round in Nairobi follows earlier legs in Kenya in 2024 and Jersey in 2025.
Uganda and Italy have already sealed their places from Group B after the final round hosted by Tanzania, and will become the 26th and 27th nations to play men’s ODI-status matches when they feature in the Qualifier Play-off. The Group A contenders will be desperate to join them.
Preparations underway
Jersey and Papua New Guinea have arranged warm-up fixtures ahead of the trip to Nairobi. Jersey will travel to Uganda for two matches against Uganda A, while PNG head to Dubai for two games against the UAE. Kenya open their campaign against Denmark on October 21, before facing Qatar, Jersey, Kuwait and Papua New Guinea across the ten-day event.
All 90 matches across both Challenge Leagues are streamed live and free on ICC.tv, giving associate cricket a global shop window.
What is at stake
For Kenya, hosting the decisive round is both an honour and an opportunity. Playing at home at the Gymkhana and Ruaraka, they will fancy their chances of finishing in the top two and reaching the Qualifier Play-off, where ODI status awaits. Papua New Guinea, relegated from League 2 in the last cycle, arrived as one of the favourites, while Jersey will be keen to go one better after missing promotion last time.
Denmark, Kuwait and Qatar complete a competitive group where every match carries weight. The top two from Group A will join Uganda and Italy — qualifiers from Group B — in the Play-off, keeping alive the dreams of players from some of cricket’s less-heralded nations.
