The Kuwait national cricket team is the team that represents Kuwait in international cricket. The team is organised by Cricket Kuwait, which has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 2005, having previously been an affiliate member since 1998.[4] Kuwait made its international debut in 1979, but has only played regularly at international level since the early 2000s, appearing regularly in Asian Cricket Council tournaments since then. Beginning in the early 2010s, the side appeared in several World Cricket League events, although it was relegated back to regional level after the 2013 Division Six tournament.[5]
They participated in the ACC Trophy for the first time in 2000, but couldn't progress beyond the first round,[7] a performance they repeated in the 2002 tournament.[8]
In 2004, Kuwait pulled off a series off upsets to finish in third place in that year's ACC Trophy, only just missing out on qualification for the 2005 ICC Trophy. They did qualify for the repêchage tournament in early 2005[9] in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in which they finished sixth after losing to the Cayman Islands in a play-off.[10]
In February 2006, Kuwait finished third out of five teams when they hosted the ACC Middle East Cup.[11] In August, they took part in the ACC Trophy, but were unable to reproduce their strong 2004 performance. They were eliminated in the first round when a tie with Hong Kong left them in third place in their group on run rate. A win in this match would have seen them through to the quarter finals.[12]
In 2007 Kuwait played in the ACC Twenty20 Cup, which they also hosted. They finished third in the tournament, beating the UAE by three runs in a play-off.[13]
Kuwait has participated in several World Cricket League tournaments, hosting and winning Division Eight in 2010;[14] winning Division Seven in Botswana in May 2011;[15] and coming third in Division Six in Malaysia in September 2011. Kuwait set one of the lowest ever T20 targets during the 2014 Asian Games.[16]
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 Kuwait and other ICC members after 1 January 2019 have the full T20I status.[17]
