Maqonda Ndlovu
Cricket Namibia held its annual awards at the Mecure Hotel (formerly known as Safari Court Hotel), where top performers were rewarded for their hard work.
The event was attended by several high-ranking sports officials, including Jo-Anne Ndilokelwa Manuel, the director of sport at the Ministry of Sport, Youth, and National Service, who delivered the keynote speech.
Manuel said Cricket Namibia has done a lot of development in the country, and its performance beyond the national borders is a sign of sport excellence.
“There is visible transformation within Cricket Namibia, and the cricket games have expanded to all 14 regions of the country. Cricket Namibia has really expanded the cricket game for both women and men and also focused on child and youth welfare and development. Hence, Cricket Namibia has worked tirelessly to grow the cricket game from the grassroots,” she said.
Manuel added that, as a government, they take note of the various private companies that have come on board to assist Cricket Namibia.
“We have been reliably informed that some of these companies are Capricorn, Richelieu, Walvis Bay Salt, and many others. As a government, we are indebted to your capital injections in cricket and Cricket Namibia,” she said.
On his part, Dr Rudi van Vuuren, the board chairperson of CN, said they are very excited about the high performance programme and the development programme of CN.
“We are seeing a stream of talent coming through, displaying skill levels that I have never seen on Namibian soil. These programmes will find the athletes in our country and make them world-class cricketers. We want to see Namibian children embrace cricket as a career option, inspiring children from Oranjemund to Katima Mulilo to play cricket,” he said.
He added that as CN, Saturday was a “night of thanking people, acknowledging performance, and celebrating on and off-field performances”.
He said CN has developed a vision for 2027 for the World Cup, which Namibia will co-host with South Africa and Zimbabwe.
“They say a vision is a picture of the future that creates passion in people, and if I close my eyes, I see one of the most beautiful, truly Namibian cricket stadiums, watching the Eagles beat South Africa with camelthorn trees in the foreground and the sun setting over the Auas mountains in the background,” he fantasised.
Meanwhile, the biggest winners of the night were captain Gerhard Erasmus, who won the National Eagles Player of the Year Award, the Players’ Player of the Year Award, and T20’s Player of the Year 2022.
The Most Improved National Eagles Player prize went to Tangeni Lungameni, while the National Eagles T20 Player of the Year 2022 went to Bernard Scholtz.
The ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Best Batter award was given to Jan Frylinck.
On the ladies’ side, Arrasta Diergaardt was named the Capricorn Eagle’s Players’ Player of the Year and the Most Improved Player, while Suné Wittmann got the Eagle’s Player of the Year for 2022, Batter of the Year 2022, and Bowler of the Year 2022.
The Coach of the Year Award went to Eagles coach Pierre de Bruyne for his successful performance at international level amongst others.