Malawi national cricket team

The Malawian national cricket team is the men's team that represents Malawi in international cricket.

Malawi
AssociationCricket Malawi
Personnel
CaptainGift Kansonkho
CoachAndre Botha
International Cricket Council
ICC statusAssociate member[1] (2003)
ICC regionAfrica
ICC Rankings Current[2] Best-ever
T20I 53rd 49th (28 May 2023)
International cricket
First international21 March 2004 v Gambia at Willowmoore Park, Benoni, South Africa
T20 Internationals
First T20Iv  Mozambique at Lilongwe Golf Club, Lilongwe; 6 November 2019
Last T20Iv  Seychelles at Achimota Oval A, Accra; 28 March 2026
T20Is Played Won/Lost
Total[3] 70 33/34 (0 ties, 3 no results)
This year[4] 4 2/2 (0 ties, 0 no results)
T20 World Cup Qualifier appearances1[a] (first in 2025)
Best result7th place (2025)

T20I kit

As of 28 March 2026

History

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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

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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.

6 November 2019
10:00
Scorecard
Mozambique 
169/5 (20 overs)
v
 Malawi
170/7 (19.4 overs)
Damiao Couana 71* (36)
Mahammed Patel 3/25 (4 overs)
Mahammed Patel 40* (33)
Zefanias Matsinhe 3/27 (4 overs)
Malawi won by 3 wickets
Lilongwe Golf Club, Lilongwe
Umpires: Acacio Chitsondzo (Moz) and Osman Mhango (Mwi)
  • Malawi won the toss and elected to field.
  • First ever T20I match for Malawi.

Grounds

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Locations of grounds which have hosted international cricket matches within Malawi

Squad

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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 Kansonkho27Left-handedRight-arm medium
Gift Kansonkho27Right-handedRight-arm medium
Chisomo Malaya21Right-handedRight-arm leg break
Beston Masauko21Right-handed
Francis Nkhoma28Right-handed
All-rounders
Sami Sohail24Right-handedRight-arm medium
Aaftab Limdawala21Left-handedRight-arm leg breakVice-captain
Moazzam Baig41Right-handedRight-arm off breakCaptain
Gershom Ntambalika31Right-handedRight-arm medium
Wicket-keepers
Phillip Zuze19Right-handed
Chisomo Chete31Right-handed
Spin Bowlers
Suhail Vayani18Right-handedRight-arm leg break
Mike Choamba21Right-handedRight-arm off break
Pace Bowlers
Daniel Jakiel35Right-handedRight-arm fast-medium
Blessings Pondani24Right-handedRight-arm medium-fast
Bright Balala18Right-handedRight-arm medium-fast

Records and statistics

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International Match Summary — Malawi[9]

Last updated 28 March 2026

Playing Record
FormatMWLTNRInaugural Match
Twenty20 Internationals703334036 November 2019

Twenty20 International

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T20I record versus other nations[9]

Records complete to T20I #3791. Last updated 28 March 2026.

OpponentMWLTNRFirst matchFirst win
vs Associate Members
 Bahrain707007 July 2025
 Botswana4220020 November 202220 November 2022
 Cameroon2200015 September 202215 September 2022
 Eswatini3300017 October 202117 October 2021
 Germany312005 July 202510 July 2025
 Ghana3120019 October 202122 September 2024
 Kenya6140116 September 202228 September 2025
 Lesotho3300022 October 202122 October 2021
 Mali2200021 November 202221 November 2022
 Mozambique971016 November 20196 November 2019
 Namibia1010030 September 2025
 Nigeria1010026 September 2025
 Rwanda15870022 October 202122 October 2021
 Saint Helena1100024 November 202224 November 2022
 Seychelles3200120 October 202120 October 2021
 Tanzania4040020 September 2022
 Uganda3030016 October 2021

Other records

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For a list of selected international matches played by Malawi, see Cricket Archive.

Tournament history

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T20 World Cup Africa Regional Final

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T20 World Cup Africa Regional Final record
Year Round Position GP W L T NR
Uganda 2019Did not qualify
Rwanda 2021
Namibia 2022
Zimbabwe 2025Group stage7/852300
Total1/40 Title 52300

ACA Africa T20 Cup

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ACA Cup T20 record
Year Round Position GP W L T NR
South Africa 2022Group stage6/831200
South Africa 2023Semi-finals4/852300
Total0 titles2/283500

Other tournaments

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WCL African region (List A) T20WC Africa Sub-regional Qualifiers (T20I)
  • 2018 (South): 5th place
  • 2021: 3rd place
  • 2022: 3rd place
  • 2024: Runners-up — Advanced

See also

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Notes

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  1. T20 World Cup Qualifier refers to the Regional Final of the ICC Africa region from the 2023 edition.

References

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