WINDHOEK North West Dragons beat Namibia by 107 runs in their three-day match which ended at the Wanderers ground on September 30. The visitors declared their second innings at 243 for the loss of seven wickets, leaving Namibia a victory target of 392. The total was just too big and Namibia were eventually all out for 284 to give the Dragons a comfortable victory. North West scored 339/9 in their first innings with Neil Bredenkamp (108), Thandu Bula (98) and Jimmy Kgamadi (51) being their top scorers. Namibia’s best bowlers were: JB Burger (3/77 off 16 overs), Bjorn Kotze (2/30 off 8 overs), Deon Kotze (2/17 off 6 overs) and Niklaas Scholtz (2/42 off 10 overs). Namibia’s batsmen couldn’t get going and they were eventually all out for 192 in their first innings. Namibia’s top order batsmen started off well with JB Burger scoring 40, Ruhann Burden 18 and Sarel Burger 32, but when they were dismissed, wickets fell at regular intervals. Kola Burger scored 23, Niklaas Scholtz 22, Deon Kotze 12 and Louis Klazenga 16 as Namibia was dismissed for 192. Stefan Gericke was North West’s best bowler, taking 4/24 off 8 overs, while Jaco Campher took 3/40 off 12 overs and Rihaadt Bhayat took 2/48 off 8 overs. Dragons set big victory target. North West declared their second innings at 243/7, to set Namibia a winning target of 392 runs. North West’s top batsmen were Christian Jonker (61), Niel Bredenkamp (37), Thandu Bula (38) and Vusi Mazibuko (40). Namibia’s top bowlers were Deon Kotze (2/26 off 15 overs), Bjorn Kotze (2/46 off 14 overs), Ian van Zyl (1/34 off 14 overs), JB Burger (1/40 off 10 overs) and Niklaas Scholtz (1/17 off 4 overs). Despite the early loss of Ruhann Burden for 7 runs, Namibia started their run chase well, with JB Burger and Sarel Burger adding 88 runs for the second wicket. JB Burger went on to score 56 off 76 balls, before being caught behind off the bowling of Jonker, while Sarel Burger was dismissed for 51, caught by Bula off the bowling of Bhayat. Niklaas Scholtz was the best of the middle order batsmen scoring 56 off 88 balls, but wickets fell regularly and Namibia’s chances of victory steadily decreased. Henna Prinsloo scored 25, Deon Kotze was out for a duck, Bjorn Kotze scored 15, Tobie Verwey 15, Kola Burger 24 and Ian van Zyl a duck as Namibia was all out for 284 runs. North West’s top bowlers were Rihaadt Bhayat (3/44 off 15 overs) and Vusi Mazibuko (2/59 off 12 overs). Despite the comprehensive defeat, it was an encouraging performance by a young Namibian side that missed established players like Stefan Swanepoel, Gerrie Snyman and captain Louis Burger through injuries. In their absence, several young players were selected and made promising debuts. They include Ruhann Burden, Henno Prinsloo and wicketkeeper Tobie Verwey, while former all-rounder Burton van Rooi made a return to the squad as 12th man after an absence of three years.