Williams appointed Eagles coach 

Namibian cricketing great Craig Williams was yesterday appointed as the new head coach of the Eagles following the resignation of Pierre de Bruyn.

Williams, who represented the Eagles between 2007 and 2022, is Namibia’s leading all-time run scorer with more than 15 000 runs in all formats of the game.

Besides that he took 273 wickets and is one of only four Namibian bowlers to take more than 100 wickets in both first-class and List A cricket. 

He was also a top fielder and according to Cricinfo is Namibia’s record holder for catches by an outfielder in first-class and List A matches, and second behind current Eagles captain Gerhard Erasmus in T20 matches. 

Since his retirement Williams became involved with Uganda’s coaching set-up as a batting consultant and helped them qualify for their first-ever T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies last year. 

At yesterday’s announcement Cricket Namibia CEO Johan Muller said that Williams’ appointment marked an exciting new chapter for Namibian cricket. 

“Craig brings not only world-class cricketing expertise but a deep understanding of our players, our culture, and our ambitions. With a newly assembled, highly skilled coaching staff, we are entering a new era—one focused on qualifying for our fourth T20 World Cup and proudly representing Namibia on home soil during the 2027 ICC Men’s World Cup. We are confident that under Craig’s leadership, the Eagles will continue to soar,” he said. 

Board member Daneel van der Walt also paid tribute to De Bruyn. 

“We would like to sincerely acknowledge the exceptional contribution of our outgoing head coach, Pierre de Bruyn, who has served Cricket Namibia with distinction over the past six and a half years. Since his appointment in 2018, Pierre has played a pivotal role in our rise on the international stage — from achieving ODI status to leading the team to three ICC T20 World Cups and securing historic wins against two full member nations. His impact on the growth and foundation of cricket in Namibia has been truly transformative.”

Williams said he was honoured to be appointed as national coach. 

“It’s an absolute privilege and honour to be able to coach your own country. I’ve played many years for Namibia under many different coaches, so I’m extremely proud to get this appointment and I look forward to continuing with the legacy that Pierre created for us,” he said. 

“In terms of coaching I’m quite young, but it’s been quite exciting so far. I’ve had two good years with Uganda, I’ve been to the World Cup with them and I think that was a stepping stone to be able to learn what it’s like being a coach on the international stage. So I’m looking forward to this new challenge and to coach this current team that is performing quite well,” he added. 

Williams said he will not change much from what De Bruyn had set in place. 

“We will just continue with the standards that Pierre set. It’s become a culture, it’s become part of our values, and it’s become the way we do things. I played for three years under Pierre, so I learned a lot from him and the way he operates.

“We started with training this morning already, and I could see straight away that in terms of the team there’s no real change and things are carrying on. I’m not here to change things, I’m here to bring a different voice, to apply a few things that I believe in, in terms of coaching styles and game tactics,” he said. 

Namibia is currently struggling in the World Cricket League Division 2 series, lagging in sixth place on the log on 14 points – eight behind the leaders USA, but Williams said there is still time to turn their fortunes around. 

“There are 16 matches left for us, starting with Canada and Scotland coming up in August, so although my role only started today, I’ve already had a few weeks to start putting my mind around what we need to do. Those plans have been put in place, and Pierre already planned for future tours and we’re going to continue with that, but in terms of the 16 matches left our priority is to win every single one of them.

“Where we end on the table at the end of the day will be out of our hands, but we are planning to be extremely well-prepared for Canada and Scotland and hopefully the results will go our way,” he said. 

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