Over 50’s Africa Cup underway 

Namibia are under pressure to perform as the Over 50s Africa Cup tournament hosts, says skipper Dawie Hartzenberg.

The tournament, which started in Windhoek on Sunday and concludes on Thursday, counts as preparation for the IMC Over-50s World Cup in Sri Lanka, which is now less than 3 months away.

Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, who have two teams in the Africa Cup, will represent the continent at the global competition.

Sponsored by Nedbank Namibia to the tune of N$100 000, the Africa Cup will feature eight 45-over matches.

Ahead of Sunday’s opening game against neighbours South Africa, which the Proteas won by 135 runs, Namibia Over 50’s cricket captain said the pressure was on them as the home team.

The clash took place at the new High-Performance Oval, formerly known as Doc Jubber.

“We have clear and realistic targets that we want to achieve in this tournament. We would like to improve our play from the previous tournament,” Hartzenberg said.

“We want to be a serious competition to our opponents during this tournament. It is also important for us to inspire the future Namibian generations to take the sport seriously,” he said.

Zimbabwean captain Darrell Goodwin says they came to win, enjoy and have fun as a unit while making friends on and off the pitch.

Unfortunately, they began the tournament with defeat by 101 runs to South Africa A at Wanderers Cricket Ground on Sunday.

South Africa’s Proteas captain, Mario Solomons, says veterans’ cricket is growing by leaps and bounds on the continent, and they were looking forward to this tournament.

“We are here to defend our title, as this tournament is vital for the development of the game. In Cape Town, we started with only eight teams a few years ago, and now we have 24 teams. We call upon other African countries to start veterans cricket teams and join us,” he says.

His views were echoed by Russell Bennett, the captain of South Africa A, who says his team is here to compete and they would like to inspire other veterans to continue playing cricket.

“We would like to meet new people and see friends whom we haven’t seen in a long time and create long-lasting friendships,” he says.

Speaking at the tournament’s official launch on Saturday, Cricket Namibia chief executive Johan Muller welcomed the visiting teams to enjoy the tournament.

“I recognise the local organising committee for a job well done in putting this together. To the visitors, enjoy your stay in Namibia, and good luck to all of you during this tournament,” Muller said.

Nedbank Namibia marketing and communications head Gernot de Klerk echoed Muller’s words by thanking the visiting teams and lauding the organisers for keeping veteran’s cricket alive.

“Nedbank Namibia is proud to sponsor the Over-50’s Africa Cricket Tournament in Namibia. This tournament not only showcases the enduring talent and passion of veteran cricketers but also highlights the invaluable role they play in inspiring future generations and fostering the spirit of sportsmanship,” De Klerk said.

“As money experts who do good, our aim is to partner with like-minded organisations like Cricket Namibia, to create platforms like these where veteran players can showcase their athleticism,” he said.

“We would like to thank Cricket Namibia for walking this journey with us as we continue to inspire our future stars.

“It’s a privilege to see Namibia hosting teams from across the continent, and we wish all participating teams the best of luck as they compete in this exciting and historic event.”

The matches are livestreamed on https://oneuptwo.com.