Limba Mupetami
The Richelieu Eagles have encountered a challenging start in the Castle Light series, facing a string of defeats against the hands of Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) at the Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek.
The Richelieu Eagles have so far lost three out of five of the series’ matches.
In the opening match last Wednesday, PCA clinched victory by three wickets, setting a precedent that was followed by further losses.
Last Friday, on day two of the series, the Eagles suffered an 87-run defeat.
On Sunday, the Namibians witnessed another setback, as they were defeated by 10 wickets, highlighting their struggle to gain momentum in the series.
Despite these setbacks, head coach Pierre de Bruyn remains optimistic.
“These losses are not something we wished for. However, I still see the series as a positive in other aspects, and that is to continue measuring yourself as a player and group against quality teams. Punjab is a quality team with the majority who have played in the Indian Premier League.
“You can only get a realistic benchmark against teams like this and test your skill set against world class players. It has given me the opportunity to fringe players and U/19 players to see where they are in the game, and to give them a taste of high-quality competitive cricket. Looking forward to the next two games to continue to give opportunity to young players to put their hands up and get a feel of this type of cricket.
“The big challenge right now is to deal with key injuries in the main squad, as about four to five players are not available due to injuries for these games. It is critical to get replacements ready and on track for the match against Scotland next weekend,” said De Bruyn.
Among the injured players are Ruben Trumpelmann and Dylan Leicher.
With the fourth match scheduled for today, and the series concluding tomorrow, the team is determined to regroup and finish strong, despite the setbacks.
Beyond the Castle Light series, the Eagles are gearing up for the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tournament set to commence next week in Scotland.
Namibia will play their fourth match today, and conclude the series tomorrow.
The ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tournament will kick off next week Tuesday (Scotland vs Oman), Thursday (18 July –Namibia vs Oman), Saturday (20 July – Namibia vs Scotland), Monday (22 July – Scotland vs Oman), Wednesday (24 July – Namibia vs Oman) and conclude on Friday (26 July – Namibia vs Scotland).