Kotze confident of win

NAMIBIAN cricket captain Deon Kotze believes that his team can beat the visiting Kenyan side in the 2005 Intercontinental Cup starting today at Wanderers.

The Namibians will go into the matches as favourites, as they are playing in front of their home crowd, but the Kenyans have proven to be fierce contenders and are expected to give a good fight. Kotze told The Namibian Sport yesterday that his team was well prepared for the clashes.”These are must-win matches for us to qualify for the semi-finals.We have a good squad, no injuries and everyone is in top shape.We must win this game outright,” he said.He also announced the return of Danie ‘Mr Reliable’ Keulder to the fold after a four-month lay-off due a back injury.Kotze said the return of Keulder and Morné Karg would strengthen their batting line-up, as these two players had consistently delivered for Namibia.But Namibia will not have two of its regular batsmen in Sarel Burger and Hugo Ludik, who are busy with their studies at the moment.Former under-19 cricketer Tobie Verwey will make his debut for the national side and will possibly stand in line for wicket-keeping.Verwey will be one of the younger players alongside Kolla Burger and Nikolaas Scholtz.The Namibian line-up looks promising with the presence of top players such as JB Burger, who has grown into a formidable batsman since the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa.Gerry Snyman, Louis Burger and Riaan Walters are all credible assets for the team and they will be expected to show their mettle in these matches.Kotze said although both teams need to win these matches, he was confident that the Namibian players would do the job.Namibia and Kenya are also playing in the same competition with Uganda.Both Namibia and Kenya beat Uganda in Kampala last month.The semi-finals of the competition will be played in Windhoek in October.The Namibian squad is as follows: JB Burger, Stephan Swanepoel, Danie Keulder, Morné Karg, Louis Burger, Deon Kotze, Gerry Snyman, Riaan Walters, Bjorn Kotze, Tobie Verwey, Kolla Burger and Nikolaas Scholtz.Kotze told The Namibian Sport yesterday that his team was well prepared for the clashes.”These are must-win matches for us to qualify for the semi-finals.We have a good squad, no injuries and everyone is in top shape.We must win this game outright,” he said.He also announced the return of Danie ‘Mr Reliable’ Keulder to the fold after a four-month lay-off due a back injury.Kotze said the return of Keulder and Morné Karg would strengthen their batting line-up, as these two players had consistently delivered for Namibia.But Namibia will not have two of its regular batsmen in Sarel Burger and Hugo Ludik, who are busy with their studies at the moment.Former under-19 cricketer Tobie Verwey will make his debut for the national side and will possibly stand in line for wicket-keeping.Verwey will be one of the younger players alongside Kolla Burger and Nikolaas Scholtz.The Namibian line-up looks promising with the presence of top players such as JB Burger, who has grown into a formidable batsman since the 2003 Cricket World Cup in South Africa.Gerry Snyman, Louis Burger and Riaan Walters are all credible assets for the team and they will be expected to show their mettle in these matches.Kotze said although both teams need to win these matches, he was confident that the Namibian players would do the job.Namibia and Kenya are also playing in the same competition with Uganda.Both Namibia and Kenya beat Uganda in Kampala last month.The semi-finals of the competition will be played in Windhoek in October.The Namibian squad is as follows: JB Burger, Stephan Swanepoel, Danie Keulder, Morné Karg, Louis Burger, Deon Kotze, Gerry Snyman, Riaan Walters, Bjorn Kotze, Tobie Verwey, Kolla Burger and Nikolaas Scholtz.