High flying Namibia host Gauteng

NAMIBIA’s cricket team will be out to continue their winning streak when they host Gauteng at the Wanderers field starting on Thursday.

Namibia have had their best-ever start in the Sunfoil 3-Day Cup and have shot to the top of the log after winning their opening three matches.

They recorded convincing victories against Northern Cape, Easterns and Boland and currently lead the log on 67,88 points, just ahead of KwaZulu Natal on 64,38, while Eastern Province trail in third place on 41,70 points.

Gauteng, in contrast, could only manage to draw their opening two matches and are currently seventh on the 14-team log on 24,90 points.

Namibia’s success has been built on their quality and depth in all areas of the game, while several match winners have emerged.

In batting, the arrival of Jean Bredenkamp from Boland has strengthened the top order considerably.

He scored his maiden century for Namibia against Northern Cape while two more half centuries have given him an average of 53,80 in his three matches to date.

Bredenkamp’s stabilising presence has also allowed Craig Williams to flourish in the middle order and the veteran batsman is currently enjoying a great run of form.

He scored a career-best 184 against Boland two weeks ago and is currently the second highest run scorer in the competition with 393 runs at a fantastic average of 98,25.

Opening batsman Stephen Baard has been as solid and reliable as ever, while Lohan Louwrens, who has been converted into an opener, still has to adapt to the new role, but he is a rare talent who will soon make his mark.

With other talented batsmen like Gerhard Erasmus, Zayne Green, JP Kotze and captain Sarel Burger also in the mix, there is a strong battle for places in the starting line-up.

Amongst the bowlers, Namibia, for the first time in many years has a potent pace attack in players like JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Tangeni Lungameni and Tiaan Snyman.

Smit and Frylinck played a crucial role in Namibia’s four wicket victory against Easterns, with both grabbing ‘fivers’ in Easterns’ second innings, while Lungameni and Snyman have also played important roles in Namibia’s successes to date.

But their bowling strength seems to lie in the spinning department, with off spinner Bernard Scholtz leading the way.

He has been a consistent wicket taker, taking a fiver against Northern Cape and eight wickets in total against Boland, and is currently the second highest wicket taker in the competition with 17 wickets at an average of 15,70.

Danie van Schoor has also been in fine form, as has Scholtz’ older brother Nicolaas Scholtz, although he recently announced his retirement from the game due to work commitments.

“It’s just becoming more and more difficult to balance my work and cricket commitments so I decided to retire while I was still at the top. I will however continue playing club cricket for Wanderers,” he said.

Scholtz, who recently turned 31, was a great servant for Namibian cricket and a top class all-rounder.

He scored more than 5 000 runs in all formats of the game with a highest score of 150 not out, while he took more than 100 wickets with a best performance of five wickets for 13 runs.

Gauteng have a young but strong side and should not be underestimated.

Amongst their batsmen, openers Yaseen Vallie and Ryan Rickleton both represented South Africa u19, while Vallie has a career best score of 182 and Rickleton 191, with a remarkable average of 55,93.

Other top class batsmen include Tshepang Dithole who scored a career-best 99 against North West a month ago, and Yassar Cook who has a career-best score of 154.

They have a potent bowling attack led by speedsters Sean Jamieson and Carmi le Roux, seam bowler Nono Pongolo and leg spinner Izak Bergh.

The Sunfoil 3-Day Cup match starts at 10h00 at the Wanderers field on Thursday and continues on Friday and Saturday, while the CSA One Day Challenge starts at 09h30 on Sunday.