The Namibian cricket team leaves for the United Kingdom on Thursday with high hopes of qualifying for their first-ever T20 Cricket World Cup.
The team will play several warm-up matches in England and Scotland before their T20 World Cup Qualifying campaign starts with a match against the hosts Ireland in Belfast on 10 July.
A total of fourteen nations will compete in two groups of seven each, with the top six nations qualifying for next year’s T20 World Cup which will take place in India from 11 March to 3 April.
National coach Doug Watson said their preparations had gone well, the players were fit and ready, and that they were confident of doing well at the qualifying tournament.
“We want to do the nation proud. It’s been a really good year for Namibian sport with the rugby qualifying for the World Cup and obviously the Brave Warriors also doing very well, so now it’s our turn and things happen in threes, so this is going to be our chance,” he said.
“Our goal is to qualify for the Wold Cup and I think it’s the same with all the other teams. We are going there to make sure we qualify, and I think there are a number of older players in the Namibian team who really want another chance at a World Cup, so they are particularly fired up – the likes of Sarel Burger, Craig Williams and Gerrie Snyman and Louis Klazinga, who’s fit again and strong and raring to go,” he added.
Namibia will play a warm-up match against a Lancashire XI in England on Monday and will then travel to Scotland for two warm-up matches against Scotland and Canada on 6 and 7 July respectively.
From there they travel to Ireland for the T20 World Cup Qualifiers, where they will compete in Group A, along with Ireland, Hong Kong, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, USA and Jersey.
Group B will consist of Afghanistan, Scotland, UAE, the Netherlands, Oman, Kenya and Canada.
The top two teams in each group will qualify directly for the 2016 World Cup, while the second to fourth-placed teams in each group will also have a chance of grabbing one of the four remaining qualifying spots.
Watson said they’d be aiming to win their group to gain direct qualification to the World Cup.
“The top teams in each group will qualify directly for the World Cup. The second and third teams play each other in cross-over matches, and the loser of that plays the fourth team. So if you have one or two poor games in the group stages, and you end fourth in your group, you’ve still got a crack at it, but that’s an outside chance and we don’t want to put ourselves in that position,” he said.
Watson said it would be a tough tournament, but they were in confident mood while the team spirit was high.
“Both groups are really tough – all the countries that are taking part know what’s at stake so they are all going to be giving 120 percent… But the guys are in a good space and there is really a good team vibe. We are travelling as a tight team, as a unit, which is really good and that’s probably the major difference to the previous qualifiers in 2013,” he said.
In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.
The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
