Review – Hard work lies ahead for the Eagles 

A year that started so promisingly for the Namibian Richelieu Eagles ended in disappointment following an underwhelming T20 World Cup campaign, while Namibia slipped down the log in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tournament.

Namibia’s campaign in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tournament, which is a qualifier for the 2027 Cricket World Cup, got off in great style when they won three of their four matches in Nepal in February. 

On 15 February, Namibia (134/6) beat Nepal (132) by four wickets, with Jan Frylinck scoring 34 and Gerhard Erasmus taking 5/28, but four days later Namibia lost by seven wickets to the Netherlands. 

Namibia were all out for 123 with JJ Smit scoring 26, while the Netherlands reached 124/3 with Erasmus taking 3/23. 

On 21 February Namibia (172/8) bounced back with a two-wicket victory against Nepal (168), with Erasmus scoring 52 and Bernard Scholtz taking 4/31, and two days later Namibia (203) beat the Netherlands (179) by 24 runs, with Nicol Loftie-Eaton scoring 49 and Frylinck taking 3/22. 

That put Namibia at the top of the log, while Nicol Loftie-Eaton blasted his way into the record books when they beat Nepal by 20 runs in a T20 match on 27 February. 

Loftie-Eaton scored a brilliant 101, with his century coming off only 33 balls, which at that stage was a world record, although it has since been overtaken. 

In April, Namibia toured Oman for a five-match T20 series as a warm-up for the T20 World Cup in June and did well as they overcame a 2-1 deficit to win the series 3-2. 

After twice being dismissed for low scores below 110, their batting finally came right with winning totals of 164/4 and 212/3 in their final two matches. 

JP Kotze was the top batter of the series with 160 runs (average 32,00), while Erasmus (8 wickets) and Bernard Scholtz (7 wickets) were the top bowlers. 

Namibia’s squad for the T20 World Cup was named in May and the big surprise was the omission of Loftie-Eaton due to disciplinary proceedings following a transgression at the Africa Games in Accra in March.

Namibia, however, still had a strong squad including stalwarts like captain Erasmus, the experienced David Wiese (who announced his international retirement after the world cup), JJ Smit, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jan Frylinck and Bernard Scholtz, as well as upcoming stars like Ben Shikongo, Michael van Lingen and Niko Davin, as well as Jack Brassell and PD Blignaut, who represented Namibia at the u19 World Cup.

Namibia’s World Cup campaign got off to a winning start as they beat Oman with a Super Over victory in Bridgetown on 2 June. 

Trumpelmann gave the Eagles a sensational start when he took two wickets off the first two balls of the match, but Oman clawed their way back to tie Namibia’s total of 109 and force the match into a super over decider. Here,  the experienced Wiese led Namibia to victory as he starred with bat and ball to seal the win. 

Trumpelmann took 4/21 and Wiese 3/28 as Oman were dismissed for 109, but Namibia were restricrted to 109/6, with Jan Frylinck scoring 45, to send the match into a Super Over. 

Wiese and Erasmus put Namibia in charge with Wiese clubbing a four and a six and Erasmus two fours in a 21-run total, before Wiese restricted Oman to 10 to complete an 11-run win. 

Four days later, however, Namibia lost by five wickets to Scotland at the same venue. Namibia were restricted to 155/9, with Erasmus scoring 52 off 31 balls, but Scotland reached the target for the loss of five wickets with nine balls to spare, with captain Richie Berrington leading the way with 47 not out. 

That’s the closest they got to a win as Namibia suffered heavy defeats to Australia and England in their final two matches. 

On 11 June, Namibia made a bit of unwanted history as they slumped to a nine-wicket defreat to Australia. 

After dismissing Namibia for a meagre 72, with Erasmus scoring half of the toital, Australia raced to the target for the loss of only one wicket and with 86 balls in hand, which is the second biggest margin of victory in terms of balls-in-hand in T20 internationals. 

Four days later, England beat Namibia by 41 runs on the DLS method in a rain-interupted match. England reached 122/5 off 10 overs, with Trumpelmann taking 2/31, while Namibia were restricted to 84/3 with Van Lingen scoring 33 and Wiese 27. 

Those defeats put Namia out of the running for a place in the Super 8 stage, while they eventually finished fourth in Group B, behind Australia, England and Scotland, who have now all automatically qualified for the next T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in 2026. Namibia, however, will once again have to try and qualify via the continental qualifying competition. 

After that Namibia’s campaign in the Cricket World Cup League 2 unravelled as they dropped down the log.

In July they only won one out of two matches against Oman on their tour to Scotland while they lost both their encounters against the hosts, while in September they hosted the USA and UAE, winning only one out of two against the UAE and losing twice to the USA. 

That saw them tumbling down the log and by the end of the year, they had dropped down to sixth position on 10 points, with the USA and Canada leading the log on 16 points each, followed by the Netherlands, Scotland and Oman on 14 points each. 

Although there is still a long way to go with the tournament only reaching its conclusion in 2026, Namibia now have a huge task on their hands to stay in the race for the 2027 World Cup, since only the top four nations will progress to the final qualifying competition.