Namibian national team rewrote the history books, making the Super 12s stage in their maiden T20 World Cup this Friday in Sharjah. The inspirational African associates qualified for the main round of the competition after defeating a Test member Ireland in a high-intense game.
It was a great day for Gerhard Erasmus and his men, who had to go through four rounds of qualification tournaments to enter the big league and set up rare clashes with India, Pakistan, New Zealand, among others in, Group 2.
On a dry, sluggish track, Namibia first restricted Ireland to just 125/8 in the first half and then chased down the 126-target with eight wickets in hand and nine balls to spare.
Former South African all-rounder David Wiese made a big difference to Namibia’s fortunes once again. Wiese bowled an exceptional spell of 2/22 in the first half and then backed it up with a terrific cameo of 28* off 14 balls, including a couple of timely sixes when the game was at a knife’s edge.
Captain Erasmus was the other big hero of his team’s win. He played arguably the most important innings in Namibian cricket history, scoring a measured 53 not out off 49 balls to take his team through to the Super 12 stage of a T20 World Cup.
But before Erasmus and Wiese brought things under control during the chase, Namibia began very shakily. They made only 27 runs in the crucial powerplay overs. Craig Williams (15) and Zane Green (24) couldn’t quite get going. Thankfully for them, their skipper and the team’s premier all-rounder came to the party.
For Ireland, Curtis Campher (2/14) and Joshua Little (0/22) bowled with good enough control and discipline. But on a challenging wicket, the rest offered the Namibian batters just enough scoring opportunities to keep the scoreboard moving.
However, to blame the bowlers for Ireland’s successive first-round exit from a T20 World Cup would be unfair since their batters – outside opener Paul Stirling – left a lot to be desired.
Stirling maximised the field restrictions for Ireland, scoring what looked like an impactful knock of 38 off 24 at that stage. However, the innings lost its breath drastically thereafter, and they failed to even make the 130-mark.
Apart from Wiese, Jan Frylinck (3/21) and JJ Smit (1/27) also bowled superbly for Namibia.
With their victory, the Namibians also directly qualified for the next T20 World Cup, due to be held in Australia in October-November 2022 since the teams that are part of the Super 12s at this year’s event also make the following edition of the competition.
Brief scores
Ireland 125/8 in 20 overs (Stirling 38, O’Brien 25; Frylinck 3/21, Wiese 2/22) lost to Namibia 126/2 in 18.3 overs (Erasmus 53*, Wiese 28*; Campher 2/14, Little 0/22) by 8 wickets
