ANOTHER clinical performance from Namibia yesterday helped them notch a third straight victory in the ICC World T20 Qualifiers, defeating the United States of America by 17 runs.
Opening batsman Raymond van Schoor hit an unbeaten 79 as Namibia posted a challenging 177-4. The US made a match of it through Aditya Mishra’s 53 before finishing on 160-7 in Dubai.Namibia has defeated two dangerous sides in Group B – Ireland and Scotland – to the delight of its captain Craig Williams.’Obviously it is a great position to be in,’ he said. ‘We won all our three matches, including two against the more dangerous and experienced sides like Ireland and Scotland, which is something we were hoping for.’But it is a 12-day tournament … we need to continue to work hard and take one match at a time.’This time it was opener and Man of the match Van Schoor who led the way for Namibia, batting through the innings to make 79 from 55 balls. Louis van der Westhuizen, their centurion in the last game, managed only 4 this time, but Williams kept Van Schoor company in a 56-run partnership for the third wicket. Williams departed for 41 with the score 126 for 3 and Nicholaas Scholtz soon followed but Sarel Burger and Van Schoor plundered 44 runs from the last 3.1 overs to lead Namibia to 177 for 4. ‘They have been doing a great job. Louis van der Westhuizen and Raymond van Schoor have showed and maintained good form,’ Williams said of his top order batsmen. ‘I am happy with the overall performance of the team as everyone has contributed evenly. But as said earlier, it is a 12-day tournament and we have just finished day three here. So, we need to continue to work hard, take one match at a time and try to improve our performance with every match.’USA lost two wickets in the first two overs and never quite recovered. Aditya Mishra made a valiant 53 and Orlando Baker added 38 but the target was always just out of reach after their poor start. Italy, Oman, Uganda and Kenya are the other opponents of Namibia before the top three from each of the two eight-team groups will go through to another qualifying stage for the ICC World T20 in Sri Lanka, which begins September 18.The US was in the hunt until Christi Viljoen clean bowled Mishra in the 15th over with the total on 117. Mishra hit two fours and five sixes and looked threatening with a 40-run fourth wicket stand with Orlando Baker. – Additional reporting by Cricketnext.com
