BOTSWANA’s u19 national cricket side will face Namibia’s u17 High Performance squad at the Momentum Oupanga Cup (Friendship Cup) next week, from 11 to 15 July in Windhoek.
According to a statement by Cricket Namibia, Namibia was supposed to face Zimbabwe and Western Province, but the two sides pulled out due to various reasons.
The five scheduled matches will serve as preparation for Botswana for their upcoming u19 World Cup qualifying campaign while the Namibian selectors will have a closer look at the potential players that will represent their country at the u19 World Cup in 2018 in New Zealand.
Namibia qualified automatically for the 2018 World Cup after finishing as the top Associate member country and seventh overall at this year’s Junior World Cup in January and February in Bangladesh.
The Momentum Oupanga Cup will start off with two 50-over matches on the first two days, followed by two 20-over matches on 13 July. Two more 50-over matches will round off the event which will be played at five different venues.
Coach Rangarirai Manyande has selected a 24-man squad and each player will get a chance to impress Manyande and the selectors in the hope of booking a ticket to New Zealand in 2018.
The Namibian squad is as follows:
Lohan Louwrens (captain), Liam Hermanus, Erich von Mollendorf, Estiaan Jacobs, Janu Dreyer, Donovan Zealand, Enrico van der Westhuizen, Victor van der Watt, Mauritius Ngupita, Dewald Nel, Petrus Burger, Albert van der Merwe, Richard Stears, Izak van der Merwe, Tiaan Jacobsz, Eben van Wyk, Steven Delport, Shaun Fouche, Gerhard Lottering, Ben Shikongo, Damian de Silver, Flores Steenkamp, Franco van der Westhuizen and Keanu Engelbrecht.
Vido Tjozongoro, Head of Marketing of Momentum said they were excited about the development of cricket in Namibia.
“Momentum is very happy with the grassroots program that Cricket Namibia is currently running through FNB, and we are excited to see the results of this program reaping it’s benefits within the next few years,” he said.
FNB and Momentum both have a major role to play within the development of Cricket in Namibia, with FNB being the main sponsor of grassroots cricket, through its Kwata Cricket programme. From here, talented cricketers then filter into the Momentum junior cricket tournaments, before they are ready to take on the best in Namibia.
The program was designed to also include government schools in Namibia to make sure that learners from previously disadvantaged communities also benefit from this developmental program. Some of the schools benefitting from the program are Peoples Primary School in Katutura, Moses van der Byl, AI Steenkamp, Elim and Gammams Primary Schools.
“In the Erongo Region, Cricket Namibia has included Tutaleni Primary School, Naraville and Kuisebmund Primary School, while Oshakati Primary School, Oshikuku Elim and Rundu Nkurenkuru Primary Schools in the north are also beneficiaries of the program. We believe that involving more schools in Namibia will help us to identify and develop this young talent at an early stage so that they can be prepared to compete at a national level,” Tjozongoro said.
“Players such as Ben Shikongo and Mauritius Ngupita are evidence of the success of the Kwata programme, as they went through the structures of Kwata, and then Momentum, and have now been selected to represent the Namibia High Performance Squad against Botswana,” the statement read.
The fixtures are as follows:
Monday, 11 July: Namibia Invitation v Botswana
Tuesday, 12 July: Namibia Select v Botswana
Wednesday, 13 July: Namibia Select v Botswana
Wednesday, 13 July: Namibia Invitation v Botswana
Thursday, 14 July: Namibia Invitation v Botswana
Friday, 15 July: Namibia Select v Botswana
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