Namibia’s cricket fraternity celebrated a historic milestone over the weekend with the official inauguration of the FNB Cricket Stadium.
The state-of-the-art facility took nearly three years to complete.
The opening ceremony was made even more memorable as the Eagles defeated South Africa’s Proteas in a thrilling T20 encounter.
The new 7 500-seater stadium, which cost approximately N$73 million, will serve as one of the key venues for the U/19 Cricket World Cup and later the senior men’s Cricket World Cup, which Namibia will co-host alongside Zimbabwe and South Africa.
After months of planning and construction, the facility was officially inaugurated on Saturday with a pulsating one-off T20 clash between Namibia and the Proteas.
In front of a packed crowd, the Eagles produced a remarkable performance to claim a four-wicket victory, chasing down 135 runs in the final over.
Needing 11 runs off the last six balls, Zane Green, who top-scored with an unbeaten 30 off 23 deliveries, struck Andile Simelane’s first delivery for six before adding four more runs across the next three balls with Ruben Trumpelmann to level the scores.
After a tense dot ball, Green smashed the final delivery over mid-wicket for four, sealing a famous win for Namibia.
South Africa fielded a somewhat experimental side, missing several key players who are currently in Pakistan for an upcoming Test series.
However, they did welcome back Quinton de Kock for his first international appearance since June 2024.
His return was short-lived, as he was dismissed for just one run after being caught by Trumpelmann off Gerhard Erasmus’ bowling in the opening over.
The Proteas struggled to build momentum, slumping to 82-6 by the 13th over following a middle-order collapse that saw them lose three wickets for just 13 runs.
Jason Smith top-scored with 31 (30), while Gerald Coetzee’s late hitting helped push their total to 134-8.
Speaking after the match, hero of the day Zane Green expressed pride in both the team’s performance and the historic significance of the occasion.
“It was a great game. We expected it to be tough, but fortunately, it went our way. Winning at our new stadium against a great side like the Proteas is special,” he said.
“This victory is not just for us as players but for the country and Cricket Namibia as a whole. It shows how far we’ve come, and we can only build on this momentum,” he added.
-Additional reporting from supersport.com
Photo: Heather Erdmann