Tag: Namibia

WINDHOEK: Ruben Trumpelmann’s three-wicket haul, followed by an ice-cool finish from Zane Green, helped Namibia edge South Africa in a last-ball thriller to seal a memorable win in a one-off T20I here at the Namibia Cricket Ground on Saturday.

Set a mere 135-run target, Namibia hit the winning runs on the last ball of the match, losing six wickets in the process. The thrilling victory marked Namibia’s first against South Africa in their maiden meeting.

Namibia lost their openers Jan Frylinck and Louren Steenkamp in the first four overs. Frylinck made seven from five, whereas Steenkamp scored 13 from 19 balls.

Despite early wickets, the home side kept chipping away with runs at a decent rate. South Africa got their third wicket after the power play in the form of Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton.

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The Proteas kept taking wickets at regular intervals, with the game evenly poised after 16.3 overs as the scorecard read 101-6 in 16.3 overs.

However, the 37* run partnership between Zane Green and Ruben Trumpelmann turned the game on its head.

With 11 required off the last over, Green struck six and four on the last ball, which completed Namibia’s fourth T20I win against a full member nation.

For South Africa, Nandre Burger and Andile Simelane picked up two wickets.

Earlier, after opting to bat first, South Africa could only muster 134-8 in 20 overs.

Jason Smith top-scored for the visitors with 31 from 30 balls with the aid of two fours. Meanwhile, Quinton de Kock, returning to international cricket after taking his retirement back, managed to score just one run.

For Namibia, Ruben Trumpelmann remained the standout bowler, picking up three wickets.

Playing XIs

HARARE: JJ Smit’s all-round heroics powered Namibia to a victory over Tanzania, securing a spot in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, set to be held in India and Sri Lanka. 

Namibia’s victory in the first semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Regional qualifiers marked the fourth consecutive time they have qualified for the mega event. Their previous appearances came in the 2021, 2022, and 2024 World Cups.

After being put into bat, Namibia scored 174 on the loss of six wickets in their 20 overs.

Namibia were in trouble with 41-4 in 4.4 overs, when skipper Gerhard Erasmus and JJ Smit paired up at the crease. The duo added 88 runs for the fifth wicket partnership, which helped them out of trouble.

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Gerhard Erasmus made 55 from 41 balls with the aid of six fours, whereas JJ Smit remained unbeaten with 61 from 43 balls, striking four sixes and a boundary.

For Tanzania, Ally Kimote and Khalidy Juma picked up two wickets each.

Set 175, Tanzania mustered only 111-8 in their 20 overs, courtesy of clinical bowling.

Abhik Patwa remained the top-scorer with 31 from 31 balls with the aid of three fours and a six; however, it was not enough as Namibia chipped in with wickets at regular intervals.

After shining with the bat, JJ Smit was excellent with the ball as well and picked up three crucial wickets to help his team seal a memorable win. Ben Shikongo supported him well from the other end, managing to bag three wickets in his quota of four overs.

In the second semi-final, Kenya will face Zimbabwe in a bid to qualify for the marquee event. South Africa is the third African team to qualify directly for the World Cup.

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Namibia’s star all-rounder David Wiese, who also represented South Africa, has announced retirement from international cricket following his side’s loss against England in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 on Saturday.

In his last match, the veteran all-rounder bagged one wicket and scored a blistering 27 off 12 deliveries, featuring two boundaries and two sixes. However, he could not get his team across the line as Namibia lost the 10-over clash by 41 runs.

“I mean, [the next] T20 World Cup is still two years away, I’m 39 years old now, so, in terms of international cricket, I don’t know if there’s much left in me,” Wiese said in the post-match press conference.

“Obviously, I [would] still like to play the game for a couple more years, I feel like I’ve still got a lot to contribute and a lot to play.

“But I just feel like what better place to end a special career for me personally with Namibia. I’ve had a lot of good times with them and to play my last game for them possibly at a World Cup against a world-class team like England, it just seemed like the right time.”

Weise started his international career with South Africa during a T20I against Sri Lanka in 2013.

He represented South Africa in white-ball cricket from 2013 to 2016 before making himself unavailable to play county cricket for the English county Sussex.

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He was also part of South Africa’s squad in T20 World Cup 2016 in India, where the Proteas were knocked out in the Super 10 stage.

He played 20 T20Is and six ODIs for South Africa, scoring a total of 194 runs and taking 33 wickets across both formats.

Following a five-year break, he returned to international cricket after being selected in Namibia’s squad ahead of their first-ever T20 World Cup campaign in 2021.

The pace-bowling all-rounder played his first game for Namibia against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup.

The marquee event, jointly hosted by the UAE and Oman, witnessed the resurgence of Wiese as he led Namibia to their first victory in the tournament against the Netherlands.

He helped his side chase a 165-run target with an unbeaten 66 off 40.

The veteran all-rounder had a brilliant tournament as he finished as the sixth-highest run-scorer with 227 runs from eight games, including an unbeaten 43 in a losing cause against Pakistan. He also picked six wickets.

He remained an integral part of the Namibian side since then, playing nine ODI and 34 T20I matches for the country. He scored 760 runs across two formats and picked 41 wickets.

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ANTIGUA: A combined batting and bowling effort led England to a comfortable 41-run victory over Namibia in a must-win ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 clash here at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Thursday.

Set to chase 126 as per the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, Namibia could manage 84/3 in the allotted 10 overs.

Namibia got off to a shaky start to the daunting total as their openers Nikolaas Davin Michael van Lingen found it hard to score freely against a dominant England bowling attack.

The pair added 44 runs in six overs before Davin decided to retire out after scoring 18 off 16.

David Wiese was promoted to No.3 to accelerate the flow of runs.

The all-rounder took on the attack to the England bowlers with clean hitting. He was supported by Lingen as the pair brought up 36 runs in just three overs before the latter perished.

Michael van Lingen top-scored for Namibia with a cautious 33 off 29 deliveries, hitting one boundary and three sixes.

But, Wiese, who perished on the fourth delivery of the final over was the pick of the batters for Namibia for his blistering 27 off 12 deliveries.

For England, Chris Jordan and Jofra Archer claimed one wicket apiece.

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Put into bat first in a crucial match that was eventually reduced to 10-over a side, England registered a massive total on the board, courtesy of a third-wicket partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Brook.

The defending champions, however, had a contrasting start to their innings as they lost both their openers Jos Buttler (0) and Phil Salt (11) inside 2.1 overs with just 13 runs on the board.

Following the early hiccup, Bairstow launched an astounding counterattack by taking Namibia bowlers to the cleaners in a one-sided 56-run partnership with Brook.

Bernard Scholtz provided a much-needed breakthrough to Namibia on the first delivery of the eighth over when he got rid of Bairstow, who scored a quickfire 31 off 18 deliveries with the help of three fours and two sixes.

Harry Brook then switched gears after Bairstow’s dismissal and further bolstered England’s total at the backend. He was supported by Moeen Ali (16) and Liam Livingstone (13), who added quick runs with handy cameos.

Brook top-scored for England with an unbeaten 47 off just 20 deliveries, laced up with six boundaries including two sixes.

For Namibia, Ruben Trumpelmann bagged two wickets while David Wiese and Scholtz could pick up one wicket each.

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ANTIGUA: Australia registered a crushing nine-wicket victory over Namibia to qualify for the Super Eight stage of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 here on Tuesday.

Chasing a modest target of 72, Australia gave a dominant batting performance as they achieved the total in 5.4 overs.

David Warner gave his side a fiery start with an eight-ball 20, which featured three boundaries and one six before David Weise got him out.

However, Travis Head and skipper Mitchell Marsh carried on the momentum, ending the game inside the powerplay.

Head scored 34 off 17 with the help of five boundaries and two sixes, while Marsh scored a nine-ball 18, laced with three boundaries and one six.

Earlier, Australia opted to bowl and wreaked havoc against the Namibian batting line-up with three quick wickets in 4.1 overs with 15 runs on the board.

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The early onslaught prompted Namibia to play cautiously as they scored only six runs in the next 21 balls and lost two wickets in the process.

Namibia’s captain Gerhard Erasmus kept rotating strike amid falling wickets before switching gears during the 29-run stand with Jack Brassell (2).

Erasmus top-scored for his side with a 43-ball 36, which featured four boundaries and one six.

Marcus Stoinis dismissed Erasmus as well as last-man Ben Shikongo to wrap up Namibia’s innings at 72 runs in 17 overs.

For Australia, Zampa topped the bowling charts with the figures of 4-12, while Stoinis and Josh Hazlewood bagged two wickets each.

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ANTIGUA: Australia have won the toss and elected to field first against Namibia in the 24th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 here on Tuesday.

PLAYING XIs

BRIDGETOWN: A combined bowling effort, followed by captain Richie Berrington’s unbeaten 47 guided Scotland to a five-wicket victory over Namibia in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 here at Kensington Oval on Thursday.

While chasing 156, Scotland scored 49 runs at the loss of two wickets in 7.3 overs, courtesy of opening batter Michael Jones’ 20-ball 26.

They soon slipped to 73-4 in 11 overs, with 83 required off nine overs. Berrington and Michael Leask then turned the game on its head with their clean hitting.

Together they added 74 runs for the fifth wicket from 42 balls before Ruben Trumpelmann dismissed Leask, who scored 35 off 17 with four smashing sixes.

However, the match was already tilted on the Scottish side with nine required off 13. Berrington ended the game with a six off David Weise to seal the victory with nine balls to spare.

Berrington scored 47 runs from 37 balls, laced with two boundaries and as many sixes.

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Namibia’s captain Gerhard Erasmus picked two wickets, while Trumpelmann, Tangeni Lungameni and Bernard Scholtz bagged one apiece.

Earlier, Namibia had a horrible start after opting to bat as they lost JP Kotze on the third ball without any run. The batting side failed to recover as Scotland bowlers picked three quick wickets to reduce Namibia to 55-4 in 7.3 overs.

Erasmus and Zane Green then stitched a 51-run partnership from 38 balls with the former being the chief contributor.

Erasmus scored a 31-ball 52, laced with seven boundaries which included two sixes.

Green scored 28 off 27, while David Weise scored 14 off 13 before they were dismissed by Brad Wheal in the same over. Namibia managed to score 155-9 in their allocated 20 overs.

From Scotland, Wheal led the bowling with the figures of 3-33, while Brad Currie managed two wickets.

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BRIDGETOWN: Namibia have won the toss and chose to bat first against Scotland in the 12th match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 here at Kensington Oval on Thursday.

The game was tied when Weise failed to score two runs off the last ball but managed a single off bye to level the scores.

Namibia had a cautious start with a 42-run stand for the second wicket between Nikolaas Davin (24) and Jan Frylinck (45).

Davin got out in the ninth over, while Frylinch kept playing the anchor’s role amidst falling wickets on the other end.

Other than these two, only Erasmus (13) managed to reach double figures as Namibia finished with 109-6 in their allocated 20 overs.

Mehran Khan topped the bowling charts for Oman with figures of 3-7.

Earlier, Namibia opted to bowl first and Trumpelmann proved the decision right as he picked two wickets in the first two balls of the innings.

He dismissed Naseem Khushi in the third over to inflict further damage, reducing Oman to 10-3.

Zeeshan Maqsood played a cautious 22-run knock from 20 balls before falling prey to Bernard Scholtz.

Khalid Kail top-scored for Oman with 34 runs from 39 balls featuring one boundary and one six, while Ayaan Khan scored 15 off 21.

Other than these three, no Oman batter could pose any threat to Namibia at any point as the whole team bundled out for 109 in the final over.

Trumpelmann claimed 4-21, while David Wiese picked three wickets for 28 runs.

PORT OF SPAIN: Australia were forced to field coaches and national selector during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 warm-up fixture against Namibia at Queen’s Park Oval Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday.

Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald, assistant coaches Brad Hodge and Andre Borovec, as well as chairman of selectors George Bailey, featured in the match as substitutes due to a shortage of players.

There were only nine players available for Australia, as Travis Head, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, and Marcus Stoinis had yet to link up with the team after the conclusion of the IPL.

The former T20 World champions invited Namibia to bat first and restricted them to 119-9 in 20 overs, courtesy of brilliant bowling performance by Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa.

Hazlewood picked two wickets for five runs, while Zampa returned with figures of 3-25.

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Zane Green was the notable contributor for Namibia with a 30-ball 38, which featured five boundaries.

Australia chased down the total in a dominant fashion in only 10 overs, thanks to David Warner’s aggressive strokeplay. He smashed three sixes and six boundaries on his way to a 21-ball 54.

Tim David scored 23 runs from 16 balls, while Matthew Wade scored an unbeaten 12 off five balls.

For Namibia, Bernard Scholtz picked two wickets.

Australia will next face co-hosts West Indies in their final warm-up match on Thursday at the same venue.

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