Namibia end campaign on winning note

NAMIBIA ended their 2017 Cricket South Africa series on a high note when they beat Boland by 77 runs in their One Day Challenge in Paarl on Sunday.

Namibia scored 234 runs for eight wickets off their 50 overs and then dismissed the whole Boland side for 157 runs.

Boland won the toss and sent Namibia in to bat and despite losing regular wickets they made steady progress.

Amongst the top order batsmen, LP van der Westhuizen (9), JP Kotze (10) and Craig Williams (9) went cheaply, and when Stephen Baard was out for 25, Namibia were struggling at 63 for four wickets.

Lohan Louwrens however once again came to Namibia’s rescue with a fine innings. He went on to top score with 60 off 85 balls, which included four fours.

Namibia’s lower order added valuable contributions, with Zayne Green scoring 37, Jan Frylinck 22 not out and JJ Smit a rapid 39 off 22 balls which included three fours and two sixes.

Godfrey Stevens was Boland’s best bowler, taking three wickets for 34 runs off 10 overs.

In reply, Boland lost an early wicket when Ricardo Vasconcelos was dismissed by Zhivago Groenewald for nine runs, but Ferisco Adams (42) and Jean Bredenkamp (37) took the total to 75 before JJ Smit dismissed Adams.

Sarel Burger (two) and Jan Frylinck struck with three wickets to leave Poland struggling at 105 for six wickets and they could not recover after sustained pressure by Namibia’s bowlers, as the whole team was eventually out for 157 runs.

Frylinck was Namibia’s best bowler, taking four wickets for 21 runs off six overs, while Burger took 2/25 off eight overs.

The Sunfoil 3-Day Cup match between the two sides ended in a draw on Saturday.

Namibia scored 279 in their first innings with the 17-year-old Louwrens scoring his first century for Namibia. he was eventually out for 110, which included 15 fours and one six.

There were also good contributions from Craig Williams (48), JP Kotze (32) and Stephen Baard (24).

Namibia managed to restrict Boland to 250 in their first innings.

Ricardo Vasconcelos was Boland’s top batsman with 70 runs, while Sarel Burger took three wickets for 59 runs off 22 overs, and Danie van Schoor 3/46 off 13 overs.

Namibia declared their second innings at 326 for seven wickets, with Craig Williams leading the way with a great century. He was eventually not out on 152 which came off 212 balls and included 15 fours.

Stephen Baard added 53 and Jan Frylinck 70, as Namibia set Boland a victory target of 356 runs.

Boland got off to a strong start as Vasconcelos (79) and Adams (92) put on 164 runs for the opening wicket, but once they were out, Namibia’s chances of winning improved.

They managed to break through Boland’s top order, but could not wrap up the tail and Boland eventually reached 288 for seven wickets when the match was called off for a draw.