Maqonda Ndlovu
The Richelieu Eagles claimed a morale-boosting 3-2 series victory over the test nation playing Zimbabwe following their eight-run victory in the Twenty-20 (T20) Castle Light Series over the Chevrons at United Cricket Fields on Monday.
The two teams went into the match tied at two-all after Namibia won the opening match of the series before the visitors equalised and took a 2-1 lead in game three.
The Eagles fought hard to win game four and set the stage for a grand finale as the two sides looked to claim a physiological victory before they meet in the T20 World Cup qualifiers in three weeks.
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bowl first before restricting the home team to a merge of 101 runs all out (101/10) in 18.4 of the 20 overs.
JJ Smit top-scored for Namibia with 69 runs, with Nico Davin and Jan Frylinck scoring 19 each in their support roles. In reply, Zimbabwe never got going as they failed to establish meaningful partnerships as the wickets fell at regular intervals. Luke Jongwe top-scored for the visitors with 24 runs from 16 balls, while Nicholas Welch scored 23 runs from 30 deliveries.
Speaking after the match, Eagles captain Gerhard Erasmus said the two sides played good international cricket and helped them prepare well for the World Cup qualifiers.
“The top-order batsman did well for this tournament, and JJ Smit did well with his bowling as his presence balanced the team. The most important thing was for us to have a proper preparation,” Erasmus said.
JJ Smit was named Man of the Match (game five), while the captain was the biggest wicket-taker of the series with nine wickets from 19 overs.
Davin was the series top run scorer with 203 runs in five innings (his highest score being 80 runs).
The player of the series went to Sikandar Raza, who scooped two Man of the Match performances during the series. – jrnmarko@gmail.com