After completing a commanding 3-0 series victory against Nigeria, the Namibian Eagles face a tougher assignment when they host Indian state side Vidarbha in a five-match 50-over series starting today.
The tour forms part of a long term co-operation agreement between Cricket Namibia and India which has seen other state sides like Karnataka, Punjab and Assam competing in Namibia over the past few years.
Vidarbha is one of the top Indian state sides, winning the Ranji Trophy three times over the past decade while they also won India’s premier 50-over tournament, the Vijay Hazare Trophy this year.
Several of their top players have not been selected for the tour, but their squad still includes some experienced and numerous exciting emerging players.
Some of their top players who will not travel to Namibia include Aman Mokhade, who was the Vijay Hazare Trophy player of the series; Atharva Taide who scored a century in the final against Saurashtra; international fast bowler, Umesh Yadav; international middle order batter Karun Nair; and international wicket-keeper Jitesh Sharma.
The squad is captained by the experienced all-rounder Yash Kadam, while top batter Yash Rathod who has represented India u19 and has a first class average of over 60, is the vice captain.
One of their most exciting upcoming players is the 22-year-old batter Danish Malewar who scored 153 in the Ranji Trophy final last year and a blistering double century (203 off 221 balls) in the Duleep Trophy, while he has also been signed up by the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
Other star players include all rounder Nachiket Bhute; pace bowler Aditya Thakre who will lead their bowling attack; wicket keeper batters Rohit Binkar and Shanmesh Deshmukh; and spinners Gaurav Farde and Parth Rekhade.
The Namibian selectors, meanwhile, have named a strong 18-man squad for the series, which is also a fine mix of youth and experience.
Gerhard Erasmus will captain the side that includes other experienced international players like Jan Frylinck, JJ Smit, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz, Michael van Lingen, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Zane Green and Louren Steenkamp.
Several youngsters who excelled in the recent T20 Tri-Nations series against Hong Kong and Nigeria, as well as the 50-over series against Nigeria have also been called up to the Eagles squad.
They include 18-year-old batter Junior Tanyaanda who was the batter of the series in the Tri-Nations series; medium pace bowler Waldo Smith, who was the top bowler in the 50-over series against Nigeria; batter Alexander Volschenk, and the young pace bowlers Max Heingo and Jack Brassell.
The emerging Namibian Falcons, meanwhile, completed an impressive series victory against Nigeria on Monday, winning their final match by six wickets.
Waldo Smith was Namibia’s star performer, taking six wickets for 14 runs as Nigeria was dismissed for 162, while the Falcons reached the target for the loss of four wickets with Michael Muller scoring 59 not out and Tanyaanda 39.
The young United wicket keeper-batter Muller was also the top run scorer of the series with 119 runs at an average of 59,50, followed by Loftie-Eaton (106 runs) and JC Balt (105 runs).
Smith was the top bowler of the series with six wickets at an average of 2.33, followed by William Lottering (6 wickets, average 17.50) and Ben Shikongo (five wickets, average 24.50).
