No Loftie-Eaton in Namibia T20 squad 

Gerhard Erasmus will lead Namibia in the 2024 T20 World Cup, but will not have T20Is fastest centurion Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton in the 16-member squad for the tournament in the Caribbean and the United States (US) in June.

Loftie-Eaton is currently the subject of disciplinary proceedings in Namibia.

Cricket Namibia (CN) says it “cannot comment before the matter is resolved”.

Loftie-Eaton set a new record for the fastest T20I century against Nepal in February, bringing up the landmark in just 33 balls.

He was Namibia’s captain in the African Games in Ghana in March, but was sent back before their semi-final match for a transgression, of which the details have not been made public.

This is not the first time Loftie-Eaton has found himself in trouble.

He was also cautioned in 2018, and spent some time out of the game then, following an incident of which the details have also not been made public yet.

Another notable exclusion was experienced all-rounder Pikky ya France, who has been involved with the national team since 2011 and was part of the squad that made it out of the first round at the 2021 T20 World Cup – Namibia’s best result at the highest level.

However, Namibia have included nine players who were part of that outfit, headlined by South African-born all-rounder and T20 specialist David Wiese, who has experience in leagues around the world, and left-arm quick Ruben Trumpelmann.

Medium-pacer Jack Brassell, who was part of Namibia’s Under-19 World Cup squad that played in South Africa earlier this year and has played seven T20Is, has also been named.

Brassell was Namibia’s joint-leading bowler at the tournament, with six wickets at an average of 15.66.

Namibia will rely heavily on pace with Ben Shikongo, Tangeni Lungameni and Dylan Leicher all in the squad.

While the International Cricket Council needs teams to name 15-player squads, Namibia have named 16 players, citing the need for a bigger player base for the four warm-up fixtures in the West Indies before the start of the tournament.

They have until 25 May to drop one player from the 16.

Namibia are in group B with Australia, England, Scotland and Oman at the T20 World Cup, and have recent experience against the last of those.

They played Oman in five T20Is in Al-Almerat in April, and won the series 3-2, after being 2-1 down.

Namibia’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup are Erasmus (captain), Zane Green, Michael van Lingen, Leicher, Trumpelmann, Jack Brassell, Shikongo, Lungameni, Niko Davin, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, JP Kotze, Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, Malan Kruger, and PD Blignaut. – espncricinfo