Maqonda Ndlovu
The Eagles continued with their fine form at the ongoing final International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier 2023, with two back-to-back victories over Uganda and Rwanda at the Wanderers Cricket Fields on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Following their emphatic seven-wicket victory over Zimbabwe at the same venue on the opening day of the tournament on Wednesday, Namibia followed up with another six-wicket victory over Uganda on Friday.
In that match, Namibia won the toss and elected to bowl first, restricting Uganda to 114 runs all out in 19.4 overs.
In response, Namibia scored 116 for four (116/4) in 17 overs, to win by six wickets.
David Wiese was the player of the match, taking four wickets in 3.4 overs, and only conceding 17 runs.
Captain Gerhard Erasmus top-scored for Namibia with 35, while the opening pair of Michael van Lingen and Nikolaas Davin had a solid start, both scoring 23 off 17 and 22 balls, respectively.
The match between Namibia and Rwanda was affected by rain, and the host won by 68 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis System (DLS).
The DLS method sets targets (and decides outcomes) by calculating how many runs teams should score (and would have scored) if the resources available to both sides were equal.
Rwanda won the toss, and decided to bowl first.
Once again, the openers laid a solid foundation for a good innings, with Davin top-scoring with 80 runs from 59 balls, while his partner Van Lingen contributed 24 runs off 15 balls.
However, the rain intervened and the overs had to be reduced to 10, with Rwanda scoring 46/5 in 10 overs, giving Namibia a 68-run victory.
Having played half their matches so far, the Eagles sit top of the log with six points from three victories, and a net run rate of 2.896.
They are followed by Kenya, who have the same number of points, but a lower net run rate of 1.188.
The third place is occupied by Zimbabwe, who have two points from two matches, while fourth place is occupied by Uganda with two points as well.
In fifth place is Nigeria, whose match against Rwanda (sixth place) was abandoned on Friday because of the rain.
Tanzania currently occupies the seventh and last position, having lost all their three games in the tournament.
Namibia’s next match is against Kenya today at the United Cricket Ground before they play Tanzania tomorrow at Wanderers.
The Eagles will conclude the qualifiers with a match against Nigeria at Wanders on Thursday.
The top two teams after the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier 2023 will book their tickets for the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled for the United States and West Indies in June 2024.