T20 World Cup: Confident Namibia braces up for Scotland challenge

After two stunning wins, debutant Namibia will look to continue its fairytale run when it takes on a bruised Scotland in a T20 World Cup contest on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.

Published : Oct 26, 2021 14:27 IST , Abu Dhabi

Namibia’s win over Ireland was its first against a Test-playing nation.
Namibia’s win over Ireland was its first against a Test-playing nation.
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Namibia’s win over Ireland was its first against a Test-playing nation.

After two stunning wins, debutant Namibia will look to continue its fairytale run when it takes on a bruised Scotland in the ICC T20 World Cup here on Wednesday.

Gerhard Erasmus and his bunch of unknown cricketers beat Netherlands by six wickets and then beat Ireland to grab a spot in the Super 12s. It was a historic moment for a country with a population of 2.5 million which doesn’t boast of any cricketing legacy. The win over Ireland was its first against a Test playing nation and it also guaranteed Namibia a spot in next year’s T20 World Cup.

Having earned its right to rub shoulders with cricket’s elites, Namibia will now be keen to test its skills against the best in the business. It will fancy a win over Scotland before it takes on heavyweights in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and New Zealand.

Scotland posted three successive wins in the first round before going down to Afghanistan by 130 runs . Kyle Coetzer’s men were skittled out for a paltry 60 in 10.2 overs while chasing a challenging 191 and they will need to quickly recover from the defeat to avoid any such hiccups against a team brimming with confidence.

Namibia has produced some solid batting displays as it scripted two successive chases in its last two matches.

 

ALSO READ - Defeat against Afghanistan a level check for Scotland

The duo of skipper Erasmus and all-rounder David Wiese scored bulk of the runs as it overhauled targets of 164 and 125 with plenty of balls to spare in the last two games. Wiese also starred with the ball, taking three wickets with his medium pace, while left-arm pacer Jan Frylinck took five wickets to help restrict its opponents to modest scores.

For Scotland, the batting trio of Richie Berrington, George Munsey and Matthew Cross have produced the goods in the qualifying matches. The batting line-up appeared clueless against Afghanistan’s spinners and the batters will hope to give a better account of themselves on Wednesday

Josh Davey has been Scotland’s most successful bowler, with nine wickets so far from four matches, while Safyaan Sharif, Mark Watt and Brad Wheal, too, have contributed. The team will look up to them to keep the opposition in check.

  • Namibia : Gerhard Erasmus (c), Stephen Baard, Karl Birkenstock. Michau du Preez, Jan Frylinck, Zane Green, Nicol Lofie-Eaton, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, JJ Smit, Ruben Trumpelmann, Michael van Lingen, David Wiese, Craig Williams and Pikky Ya France.
  • Scotland : Kyle Coetzer (c), Richie Berrington, Dylan Budge, Matthew Cross, Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Chris Greaves, Michael Leask, Calum MacLeod, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Hamza Tahir, Craig Wallace, Mark Watt, Bradley Wheal.
  • Match starts at 7.30pm IST.
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