July 2001 Sport News Headlines

Friday, July 20, 2001 - Web posted at 16:00:52 GMT

Cricketers welcomed as heroes
HELGE SCHUTZ

NAMIBIA'S national cricket team received a welcome fit for heroes when they arrived at the Hosea Kutako International Airport outside Windhoek yesterday afternoon.

Members of Namibia's Sports Commission and Sports Council were on hand to welcome them back from Canada where the 13th ranked Namibia defied the odds to come second and qualify for the 2003 Cricket World Cup.

Family members, friends and school children, many waving Namibian flags and placards, burst into applause when the team finally entered the arrival hall, about half an hour after their expected arrival.

One of the biggest heroes was 19-year-old Burton van Rooi, whose Jan Mohr schoolmates welcomed him back with placards reading, "Jan Mohr is proud of you," and "Burton: our own Shaun Pollock."

"The team was officially welcomed home by Maureen Walters, the vice-chairperson of the National Sports Commission.

She thanked the team for putting Namibia on the map, saying the whole country was proud of them.

Player/coach Lennie Louw said they were very excited at qualifying for the World Cup, but a lot of hard work lay ahead."

"We exceeded our expectations and it is a dream come true.

We have a very young squad, but in two years time they will be more experienced and will be more competitive," he said.

Louw ascribed their success to thorough preparation for the tour and added that all the team members had performed well at various stages throughout the tournament.

The president of the Namibia Cricket Board, Laurie Pieters, said that Namibian cricket faced big changes, which he would announce in due course.

South African cricket supremo Ali Bacher last week said that the ICC qualifying nations for the World Cup - Holland, Namibia and Canada - along with Kenya will be assisted financially by US$1 million over two years to help them prepare for the World Cup."

"It was a fantastic achievement and a wonderful tournament.

Our long-term goal was to qualify for the 2007 World Cup, but now we have exceeded our expectations, while our under-19 team has also qualified for next year's Youth World Cup.

The implications for Namibia as a whole will be amazing," he said.

Pieters added that Namibia was one of the most popular teams at the tournament and after beating Scotland to qualify for the World Cup, they received a standing ovation.

The young Van Rooi, who played a major part in the victory against Scotland by claiming six wickets for 43 runs, said he was over the moon about his performance."

"I was bowling at the death and it seemed as if Scotland was cruising to victory.

I just did my best and varied my bowling with some slower balls," he said.

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