Namibia host Easterns

THE MTC Namibian cricket team will host Easterns from South Africa in the South African Airways (SAA) Challenge in Windhoek, with matches starting tomorrow.

Namibia will be playing a three-day game against Easterns from today until Saturday, and will play a one-day, 45-overs game on Sunday. The Namibian team for the encounter was announced this week, with prominent players such as JB Burger, Louis Burger, Gerrie Snyman, Deon and Bjorn Kotze and Zimbabwean-born Tatenda Taibu all in the fold.Namibia has a strong line-up, mixed with several younger players such as Nicolaas Scholtz, Tobie Verwey and Hugo Ludik.Louis Burger will be the captain for the side, while the team’s long-time captain Deon Kotze, who is now the coach, will be expected to lead by example despite having a limited role on the pitch.Kotze was appointed as coach last year, and his appointment also came with the election of Windhoek-based lawyer Francois Erasmus, who took over the presidency from cricket guru Laurie Pieters.Organisers yesterday announced that the matches will start at 10h00 and will be expected to end at 18h00.Meanwhile, NCB spokesperson Hannes du Plessis, also announced that the board will host a breakfast gathering for companies and individuals at the Wanderers Club tomorrow, as a tribute to the late Sam van Wyk.Van Wyk was the former director of communications for the NCB and recently died in a car accident.Du Plessis said the funds gained at the breakfast meeting will be allocated to a yearly Sam van Wyk Bursary for promising young cricketers to receive specialist coaching in Windhoek or South-Africa.The guest speakers for tomorrow will include South African cricket legends Gary Kirsten and Meyrick Pringle.A table will cost N$1 000 for ten people, or N$100 per person.The Namibian team has performed exceptionally well in the tournament so far and the matches will be important for Namibia to remain competitive despite not making it through the qualification rounds of the Cricket World Cup last year.The Namibian team, whose main sponsor is Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), will be expected to turn the heat on the visitors, considering their home advantage, and the fact that they would want to pay tribute to Van Wyk by winning all the games.The sides were named as follows: Namibia: J.B.Burger, Tatenda Taibu, L.P.van der Westhuizen, Louis Burger (captain), Gerrie Snyman, Deon Kotze, Bjorn Kotze, Stefan Swanepoel, Nicolaas Scholtz, Tobie Verwey, Louis Klazinga, Hugo Ludik and Ewald Steenkamp.Easterns: Andre Seymore, Goolam Bodi, David Wiese, Jaco Booysen, Geoffrey Toyana, Brendan Reddy, Sean O’ Conner, Tumelo Bodibe, Revelation Plaatjie, Cobus Pienaar, Ettienne Gerber, Ephrahim Nyawo, Mark Robey and Thomas Pekane.For more information on the breakfast meeting, contact Francois Erasmus at 081 124 2357 or Laurie Pieters at 081 122 5551 or alternatively Hannes du Plessis at 081 128 4825.The Namibian team for the encounter was announced this week, with prominent players such as JB Burger, Louis Burger, Gerrie Snyman, Deon and Bjorn Kotze and Zimbabwean-born Tatenda Taibu all in the fold.Namibia has a strong line-up, mixed with several younger players such as Nicolaas Scholtz, Tobie Verwey and Hugo Ludik.Louis Burger will be the captain for the side, while the team’s long-time captain Deon Kotze, who is now the coach, will be expected to lead by example despite having a limited role on the pitch.Kotze was appointed as coach last year, and his appointment also came with the election of Windhoek-based lawyer Francois Erasmus, who took over the presidency from cricket guru Laurie Pieters.Organisers yesterday announced that the matches will start at 10h00 and will be expected to end at 18h00. Meanwhile, NCB spokesperson Hannes du Plessis, also announced that the board will host a breakfast gathering for companies and individuals at the Wanderers Club tomorrow, as a tribute to the late Sam van Wyk.Van Wyk was the former director of communications for the NCB and recently died in a car accident.Du Plessis said the funds gained at the breakfast meeting will be allocated to a yearly Sam van Wyk Bursary for promising young cricketers to receive specialist coaching in Windhoek or South-Africa.The guest speakers for tomorrow will include South African cricket legends Gary Kirsten and Meyrick Pringle.A table will cost N$1 000 for ten people, or N$100 per person.The Namibian team has performed exceptionally well in the tournament so far and the matches will be important for Namibia to remain competitive despite not making it through the qualification rounds of the Cricket World Cup last year.The Namibian team, whose main sponsor is Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC), will be expected to turn the heat on the visitors, considering their home advantage, and the fact that they would want to pay tribute to Van Wyk by winning all the games.The sides were named as follows: Namibia: J.B.Burger, Tatenda Taibu, L.P.van der Westhuizen, Louis Burger (captain), Gerrie Snyman, Deon Kotze, Bjorn Kotze, Stefan Swanepoel, Nicolaas Scholtz, Tobie Verwey, Louis Klazinga, Hugo Ludik and Ewald Steenkamp.Easterns: Andre Seymore, Goolam Bodi, David Wiese, Jaco Booysen, Geoffrey Toyana, Brendan Reddy, Sean O’ Conner, Tumelo Bodibe, Revelation Plaatjie, Cobus Pienaar, Ettienne Gerber, Ephrahim Nyawo, Mark Robey and Thomas Pekane.For more information on the breakfast meeting, contact Francois Erasmus at 081 124 2357 or Laurie Pieters at 081 122 5551 or alternatively Hannes du Plessis at 081 128 4825.