Despite the loss, Botswana started the campaign like a house on fire, beating Lesotho 12-0 on the first day of the qualifiers.
The team picked sweet revenge by beating South Africa 4-3 during penalties in the second game of the tournament. Botswana continued their dominance on Lesotho, beating them 23-0 during the third game to set a date with South Africa.
The game did not go according to plan as the hosts walloped Botswana 4-0 The team manager, MacDonald Fologang explained to SportMonitor that during the defeat by South Africa, Botswana players created multiple mental errors in the infield. He said South Africa only had one hit, while the rest were fielding errors.
He said batting was poor and players struggled with slow pitches. Botswana walloped Lesotho 13-0 to proceed to the final against South Africa. During the final, South Africa punished Botswana through errors. Botswana had the highest on base percentage from the first inning but failed to score a single run.
Despite the loss, Botswana has qualified because with the new two-stage format, involving 18 participating teams, Africa now receives an additional ticket for the World Cup. There are 11 teams that have qualified for the World Cup. Group A, which will be hosted by Mexico in June, has Australia, Czech Republic, Mexico, Philippines and two teams from Americas are yet to join the group. Group B, to be played in Canada in July contains Canada (host), New Zealand, Singapore and it is the group where either Botswana or South Africa will be slotted.
The wild card for the group has been allocated to Japan and China. Group C, set for Oklahoma City, USA, in September, is also open for either Botswana or South Africa. The group also has Japan, Netherlands, USA (defending champions) and two more teams are yet to complete the group.
Fologang said it has not been decided yet which group they will join but they prefer the USA group because it has teams that they can beat. Botswana has participated in the World Cup eight times, achieving the highest position of position eight in Whitehorse, Canada in 2017.
From 1992-2009, Botswana has appeared in five consecutive World Cups. Botswana makes a return after missing out on the 2022 World Cup. Meanwhile, Botswana players snatched individual prizes: Tshepo Ditiro (best batter), Oreeditse Bareng (best pitcher) and Rannaneng Mothudi (best catcher).
South Africa 2 Botswana 0
