NAMIBIAN cricket reached new heights in 2021 with the Eagles holding their own against the world’s best at the T20 World Cup, while Cricket Namibia’s continued progress was rewarded when the International Cricket Council announced that Namibia will co-host the Cricket World Cup along with South Africa and Zimbabwe in 2027.
Competing at their first ever T20 World Cup in the UAE, Namibia made the cricketing world sit up and take notice with some great performances.
They got off to an inauspicious start, going down by seven wickets to Sri Lanka on 18 October, but two days later they beat The Netherlands by six wickets, thanks to a brilliant 66 not out by man of the match David Wiese.
The Netherlands had posted a challenging total of 164/4 off their 20 overs, and when Namibia had slumped to 52/3 after eight overs, the Dutch were well in control.
Wiese however joined Gerhard Erasmus and the two revived Namibia’s hopes with a great partnership of 92 runs for the fourth wicket, before Erasmus was out for 32. JJ Smit joined Wiese to take Namibia to victory as they reached 166/4 with six balls to spare.
Four days later Namibia stunned Ireland with an eight wicket victory.
Ireland seemed to be cruising to victory when their openers Paul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien smashed 61 runs from the first seven overs, but Namibia stuck to their task and gradually turned the tide.
Bernard Scholtz dismissed Stirling for 38, and when Jan Frylinck dismissed O’Brien for 25, their run rate started to drop, as Namibia turned on the screws with some tight bowling and regular wickets to restrict them to 125/8.
In reply, Namibia’s batsmen got off to a slow start and when Zane Green was dismissed for 24, they only had 73 runs on the board after 13 overs, still needing 52 for victory off 42 balls.
Erasmus and Wiese, however, steadily chipped away at the target – Erasmus with some great running between the wicket, and Wiese with some big boundaries, before the latter clinched their victory with a four off Kevin O’Brien to spark wild scenes of jubilation amongst Namibia’s players and support staff.
Wiese won his second man of the match award, scoring 28 off 14 balls, while Erasmus contributed 53 off 49 balls.
That victory booked their place in the Super 12 stage of the competition and they got off to a flying start with a four-wicket victory against Scotland on 27 October.
Ruben Trumpelmann gave Namibia an unbelievable start, taking three wickets in his first over, to leave Scotland reeling at 3/2, before a late recovery by Michael Leask (44) and Chris Greaves (25) saw them reaching 109/8 off their 20 overs.
In reply, Namibia got off to a solid start with Craig Williams scoring 23 and Michael van Lingen 16, but Scotland struck back with some wickets to ensure a tense finish, before JJ Smit secured Namibia’s victory, scoring 32 not out off 23 balls.
It was Namibia’s third victory in a row, but their winning run came to an end when they faced some of the world’s T20 heavyweights in their final matches.
On 31 October they slumped top a 62-run defeat to Afghanistan, scoring 98/8 in reply to Afghanistan’s 160/5; on 2 November they lost by 45 runs to Pakistan, when Pakistan smashed 189/2 while Namibia replied with 144/5; on 5 November, Namibia lost by 52 runs to New Zealand, scoring 111/7 in reply to New Zealand’s 163/4; and on 8 November Namibia lost by nine wickets to India, who scored 136/1 in reply to Namibia’s 132/8.
With that, Namibia finished second last in Group 2, with only one win in the Super 12 stage, but overall they made a great debut at the T20 World Cup, which saw them mixing it with the best on the global stage.
Cricket Namibia receives great news
Barely a week after the teams return to Namibia, Cricket Namibia received a further shot in the arm when the ICC announced that it had been selected to
co-host the Cricket World Cup along with South Africa and Zimbabwe in 2027.
It will be the first time that Namibia will co-host a major international World Cup tournament, and the first time in 24 years that the Cricket World Cup returns to Africa since South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya co-hosted it in 2003.
Cricket Namibia’s CEO Johan Muller said it will provide a huge boost for Namibia.
“The whole country will benefit from the exposure and it will be a massive boost for Namibian tourism. With the top countries in the world coming we can expect a huge influx of tourists, so it will provide an economic boost for Namibia, as well as new business opportunities,” he said.
On the local scene, Windhoek High School Old Boys reasserted their dominance of Namibian club cricket when they won the 50-over Premier League title for the second year in a row.
After trailing Wanderers the whole season, Old Boys struck when it mattered most to beat Wanderers by nine wickets in the final on 20 March.
Wanderers completed their league campaign unbeaten, including two wins over Old Boys, but in the final, Old Boys took control from the start to run out comfortable winners by nine wickets. In the process they won the title for the second year in a row and the third time over the past five years.
For Old Boys, Ruben Trumpelmann took three wickets for 22 runs off 10 overs, while Divan La Cock took 3/16 as well as two great catches.
By the afternoon, the pitch had flattened out and Old Boys’ openers Craig Williams (68) and Wimpie Viljoen (63 not out) set them on course with a century partnership, as they reached the winning target for the loss of only one wicket with 20 overs still in hand.
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