NAMIBIA will kick off their T20 World Cup campaign with a match against former champions Sri Lanka at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on 18 October.
The International Cricket Council yesterday announced the schedule for the T20 World Cup which will see Namibia guaranteed at least three matches in the first round of the competition.
They will also play the Netherlands at the same venue on 20 October and Ireland in Sharjah on 22 October in their Group A matches. The top two sides in Group A will then qualify for the Super 12 stage of the competition, where they will join the top eight ranked teams in the world.
The winners of Group A will qualify for Group 1 of the Super 12s, which includes England, Australia, South Africa and the West Indies, while the second-placed team in Group A will join Group 2, which includes India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Afghanistan.
A further five group matches lie in store in the Super 12 stage before the knockout stages proceed with the semifinals which start on 10 November and the final in Dubai on 14 November.
The Namibian Eagles captain Gerhard Erasmus told icc-cricket.com that they were looking forward to the showdown.
“It’s a massive event for Cricket Namibia, the first major event we have qualified for in 18 years. It will be of big value to us, will put Cricket Namibia’s organisation on the map and give value to us as players.
“The players are looking for a massive event in their lives, which will hopefully propel their careers forward. The match we are looking forward to the most is our first match against Sri Lanka. They are past winners of the World Cup, so it should be a good one. We are all really excited for it right now, so imagine the night before,” he said.
“Our team strength over the last couple of years has been a good balance. We have got experienced heads and young guys with energy. We also have some dangerous batsmen and some good skill and smart bowlers. All in all, a tough team to beat.
“Our strength will lie in the balance of side and where everyone will chip in to provide a match-winning performance. We have the experience of JJ Smit and some newer faces in the team as well, so I am excited to see them do well,” he added.
Eagles made to work for three-wicket win
The Eagles, meanwhile, completed their third successive victory against Emerging Zimbabwe on Monday, to win the T20 series 3-0.
This time, however, they were pushed all the way for their three-wicket victory, after winning their first two matches with ease.
The visitors were all out for 129 off 19,3 overs, while Namibia reached 132 for seven wickets off 18,3 overs.
Zimbabwe got off to a poor start as Namibian pace bowler Ruben Trumpelmann bowled Chamu Chibhabha for a duck and dismissed Brian Chari for one, with only two runs on the board.
When Namibian captain Gerhard Erasmus struck with two wickets in three balls, dismissing Richmond Mutumbani (4) and Kevin Kasuza (15), Zimbabwe were struggling at 21/4.
A middle order revival, led by Roy Kaia (11), Mathew Welch (34 off 21 balls, 4×6), Brian Bennett (29) and Carl Mumba (12), however, saw them recovering, before they were all out for 129 runs off 19,3 overs.
Ruben Trumpelmann was Namibia’s most successful bowler, taking three wickets for 18 runs off four overs, while Gerhard Erasmus took 2/3 off one over.
Namibia suffered an early setback in their run chase when Craig Williams was caught behind for a second-ball duck, and when Nicol Loftie-Eaton was dismissed for four, they had slumped to 5/2.
Michael van Lingen (16) and Gerhard Erasmus (22) revived their fortunes, but Zimbabwe’s bowlers kept them in the hunt, and when Jan Frylinck was dismissed for 10, Namibia were struggling at 66/6 with eight overs remaining.
Namibia’s lower order, however, came to the rescue as Karl Birkenstock and Pikky Ya France put on 45 runs for the eighth wicket, before Birkenstock was out for 29 off 20 balls (3×4).
Ya France remained not out on 20 off 13 balls (1×6, 1×4) and Shaun Fouche not out on 10 as Namibia reached 132/7 with nine balls remaining.
Emerging Zimbabwe’s most successful bowlers were Tanaka Chivanga (2/16), Brian Bennett (2/17) and Carl Mumba (2/26).
The three-match 50-over series commences at the Wanderers ground today, with the final two matches scheduled for Friday and Sunday.
