TANZANIA’s senior national men's cricket team's preparations for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League B began earnestly in Dar es Salaam recently, with prospective cricketers featuring in trial matches.

The matches - organized by the Tanzania Cricket Association (TCA) - are termed the TCA 50 Overs Trials Tournament.

They aim at keeping the cricketers in great shape ahead of the global showdown, slated for February in Hong Kong.

Cricketers forming a squad known as Tz Green came up against Tz Blue in the 50-over formatted event, with Tz Blue commanding a four-run victory.

The Dhrumit Mehta-led Tz Blue cricketers took the crease first at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) venue and ended with 114/10 in 31.3 overs.

They were forced to find stability in batting following opener Ivan Ismail's early exit, with the prolific batsman making his way back with four runs.

The fellow opener, Mehta, made several good shots for several overs, chipping in with 18 runs.

Top-order batsman Akhil Anil was, in the end, the batsman with the most runs for the squad, as the cricketer notched 20 runs.

Senior cricketer Ally Mpeka and youthful performer Arslaan Premji also made their presence felt with two digits, playing a pivotal role in Tz Blue's acquisition of the total.

Mpeka ended with 17 runs and Premji made his way back with 16 runs.

Promising cricketers Yalinde Maurice and Mohamed Yunus impressively led Tz Green's bowling unit plan to keep Tz Blue's batting unit in check.

Maurice took 3-14 and Yunus equally ended his bowling quota solidly, taking 3-35. They were ably assisted by spinner Kassim Nassor, the performer, notched 2-16.

Needing 115 runs from 50 overs to come out with a victory, Tz Green cricketers covered every blade of grass but they fell short- scoring 110/10 in 22.1 overs. 

Top-order batsman Amal Rajeevan was the only player with an impressive figure given the cricketer notched 42 runs.

Skipper Nassor, who notched 16 runs, and Yunus who ended with 15 runs as well made their presence felt in the otherwise fruitless chase.

Pacer Mpeka solidly led Tz Blue's bowling unit to neutralize Tz Green, commanding an impressive 4-29.

Fellow bowlers Asuri Rajendra and Khalid Amiri made matters worse for Tz Green after notching two wickets apiece for Tz Blue.

Tanzania would play against Bahrain, Italy, Singapore, Uganda and host Hong Kong in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League B.

The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Challenge League is a cricket competition contested in the List A format, and the bottom level of the three-league Cricket World Cup qualification system, which was introduced in 2019. 

Twelve teams participate in two groups, with the top team of each group advancing to the World Cup Qualifier Play-off, which is a pathway to qualification for the next Cricket World Cup.

The Challenge League replaced Divisions Three, Four and Five from the World Cricket League in determining World Cup qualification. The first edition was in 2019–2022.

The 2024–2026 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League is the second edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League and a cricket tournament which forms part of the 2027 Cricket World Cup qualification process.

The league features 12 teams - those finishing second–fourth in their respective league in the 2019–2022 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League, the top four finishers from the 2024 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off, and two teams from the 2023 Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off.

That tournament saw Canada, winner of League A in the previous Challenge League being promoted to League 2 status, while Papua New Guinea was relegated.

The other Challenge League winner, Jersey, was not successful in obtaining promotion. 

The top two teams from both groups, A and B, will secure a spot at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff.

Each group in the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League is scheduled to play three times in a single round-robin tournament format, once each year from 2024 to 2026.

This amounts to 15 matches per team and a total of 90 matches.