THE Namibian national cricket team will return to Namibia in total disappointment later this week, after they failed to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup that will be held in the West Indies next year.
The Namibian side, despite winning three of their six matches at the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Trophy in Ireland, were knocked out of the race by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their attempt to secure a place in next year’s continental event. Namibia lost their last match by four wickets on Saturday.Namibia beat Canada by two runs in their first Group A match on July 1, and dismissed Papua New Guinea by 96 runs the following day.However, they lost their third match by six wickets against the Netherlands on July 4, before falling to Scotland by 27 runs the following day.On July 7, Namibia picked up a six-wicket victory over cricket minnows Oman, before they went down to the UAE by four wickets at the weekend.Namibia had to beat the UAE to secure a semi-final place against the Netherlands, the match that will determine the fifth entrant into the group that qualifies for the tournament.They were expected to engage Denmark in their playoff match for the seventh place yesterday.The ICC trophy was launched for all ICC Associate members in 1979 and the first tournament ran ahead of the main World Cup, with the finalists offered the additional prize of being included in the competition proper.Namibia were surprise entrants into the 2003 Cricket World Cup played in South Africa, but their loss in Ireland means that they have to go back to square one to build another team for the 2009 edition of the competition.Despite having comprehensive preparations ahead of the ICC Trophy by hosting several top nations such as England, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya and playing against several South African provincial sides, Namibia could not get their way around the Arab country to go through.The Namibian team, which generally has young players of whom most competed at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, will now have to look to the future if they want to develop into a formidable side that can beat any opposition presented to them.Although the tournament in Ireland will go down as one where young players such as Kola Burger had picked up valuable experience, the Namibia Cricket Board (NCB), will possibly need to look at beefing up its base to have more players fight for places in the national team.Currently, most of the players who have been doing duty for the national side for over five years now, have been in the team on a consistent basis, a situation which does not provide for new players to come in as they are regarded as too young and inexperienced.The Namibian cricket authorities were aiming to gain One Day International (ODI) status within the next year, but will possibly have to wait a bit longer as they did not secure a place at the World Cup.The World Cup in the West Indies could have served as the ultimate measurement for the Namibians in their quest for ODI status.At their first World Cup in South Africa, Namibia gave a good account of themselves by scaring top cricket nations such as England and India, who had star-studded sides at the time.Despite losing all their matches at the 2003 tournament, Namibia still showed some dominance against some of its African counterparts, especially against Kenya and Uganda.Namibia lost their last match by four wickets on Saturday.Namibia beat Canada by two runs in their first Group A match on July 1, and dismissed Papua New Guinea by 96 runs the following day.However, they lost their third match by six wickets against the Netherlands on July 4, before falling to Scotland by 27 runs the following day.On July 7, Namibia picked up a six-wicket victory over cricket minnows Oman, before they went down to the UAE by four wickets at the weekend.Namibia had to beat the UAE to secure a semi-final place against the Netherlands, the match that will determine the fifth entrant into the group that qualifies for the tournament.They were expected to engage Denmark in their playoff match for the seventh place yesterday.The ICC trophy was launched for all ICC Associate members in 1979 and the first tournament ran ahead of the main World Cup, with the finalists offered the additional prize of being included in the competition proper.Namibia were surprise entrants into the 2003 Cricket World Cup played in South Africa, but their loss in Ireland means that they have to go back to square one to build another team for the 2009 edition of the competition.Despite having comprehensive preparations ahead of the ICC Trophy by hosting several top nations such as England, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya and playing against several South African provincial sides, Namibia could not get their way around the Arab country to go through.The Namibian team, which generally has young players of whom most competed at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, will now have to look to the future if they want to develop into a formidable side that can beat any opposition presented to them.Although the tournament in Ireland will go down as one where young players such as Kola Burger had picked up valuable experience, the Namibia Cricket Board (NCB), will possibly need to look at beefing up its base to have more players fight for places in the national team.Currently, most of the players who have been doing duty for the national side for over five years now, have been in the team on a consistent basis, a situation which does not provide for new players to come in as they are regarded as too young and inexperienced.The Namibian cricket authorities were aiming to gain One Day International (ODI) status within the next year, but will possibly have to wait a bit longer as they did not secure a place at the World Cup.The World Cup in the West Indies could have served as the ultimate measurement for the Namibians in their quest for ODI status.At their first World Cup in South Africa, Namibia gave a good account of themselves by scaring top cricket nations such as England and India, who had star-studded sides at the time.Despite losing all their matches at the 2003 tournament, Namibia still showed some dominance against some of its African counterparts, especially against Kenya and Uganda.
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