Cricket Namibia lauds T20 stars

CRICKET Namibia CEO Graham McMillan said he was ‘very proud’ of the national side’s exploits at the recent T20 World Cup qualifying tournament in Dubai.
Namibia finished third, behind Afghanistan and Ireland, who progressed to the global showpiece in Sri Lanka later this year.

Namibia had racked up an impressive six straight victories in the tournament – including claiming the scalps of Ireland and Scotland – before being knocked off their stride by Afghanistan in their penultimate game.They then went on to lose to a resurgent Ireland in their final playoff match for a place in the final of the 16-team qualifying tournament.’We are very proud about what the boys did in the tournament,’ said McMillan, who attributed the team’s success to efficient pre-tournament preparations. ‘We obviously showed that we can punch well above our weight. They played with pride and determination.’However, McMillan believes that limited exposure to higher level cricket was Namibia’s undoing. He now wants Namibia to keep competing against formidable cricketing nations on a regular basis to ensure Namibia kick-on from their Dubai experience. ‘There is an obvious lack of high quality and high level cricket for us at the moment. We are attempting to get as much international exposure,’ he said.’Like so many other sport codes in the country, finances are obviously a challenge. We are hopeful that the private sector as well as government can help us out in that regard.’Namibia is currently ranked the top African T20 side and are only three places off an ICC Full Member spot. While there was no doubting their ability, McMillan feels the team’s mindset may have let them down.’A lack of big-match temperament was the reason they couldn’t get any further in the competition,’ McMillan said. ‘Being placed in such an environment which the are not accustomed to was a definitely a big factor.’

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