Namibia’s national Under 19 cricket team leave for United Arab Emirates this weekend to compete in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup.
Namibia has been drawn in Group B where they will face one of the favourites Australia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Their first match will be against Australia on Saturday, 15 February, but before that they will play two warm up matches against South Africa on Monday, 10 February and Sri Lanka on 12 February.
Their other group matches are against Bangladesh on 17 February and Afghanistan on 19 February.
It will be the seventh time that Namibia competes at the prestigious biennial youth tournament where they will face the world’s top cricketing nations, but they don’t have a very good record.
They first competed in South Africa in 1998, where they lost all their matches and two years later they once again lost all their matches in Sri Lanka.
Their best performance came in New Zealand in 2002 when Namibia beat Sri Lanka, Canada and Scotland and eventually lost to Zimbabwe in the Plate semifinals.
In 2006, Namibia beat Scotland before losing to the United States in the Plate quarterfinals, but since then they have lost all their matches.
In 2008, Namibia suffered heavy defeats against Australia by 149 runs and Sri Lanka by 163 runs, and in 2012 they once again lost by big margins – by 195 runs against Sri Lanka, 209 runs against South Africa, and seven wickets against Bangladesh.
This time around the Namibian team will be more experienced, with captain Gerhard Erasmus, batsmen Malan Kruger and Michau du Preez and bowler Bredell Wessels all having competed in 2012, while Erasmus, Xander Pitchers, JJ Smit and JP Kotze represented the senior team at last month’s World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand.
Other players who have represented the senior Namibian team are batsmen Xander Pitchers, Michau du Preez, Wayne Raw and Zane Green and bowlers Tiaan Snyman, Bredell Wessels, MP Delport and Ricardo Strauss.
Looking forward to the tournament, captain Gerhard Erasmus said: “To progress beyond the group stages, we will need a good team fight to back up one or to two special performances.
“The key for a small nation is always your 12th player on the field (your team). But as captain, I’ll be looking at vice-captain JJ Smit to lead the bowlers and keeper-batsman JP Kotze to construct the middle-order with myself and Malan Kruger.”
The Namibian squad is as follows:
Gerhard Erasmus (captain), JJ Smit (vice captain), Cobus Brand, MP Delport, Michau du Preez, Zane Green, Joshuan Julies, JP Kotze, Malan Kruger, Jano Coetzee, Xander Pitchers, Wayne Raw, Ricardo Strauss, Bredell Wessels and Tiaan Snyman.
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!
