Otniel Hembapu
Namibia’s senior cricket team, the Eagles, will this month battle it out against Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in an exciting 11-day ODI Tri-series slated for Dubai, Cricket Namibia (CN) announced yesterday.
The ODI Tri-series will be held from 4 to 14 March and will see the Namibian Eagles returning to the international cricket arena, where they have amassed a glowing reputation as one of the fast-improving cricket nations on the continent and globally.
The Eagles, which reached the Super 12 round at last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup following a string of decent results, is set to compete in five ODI games which forms part of the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2.
That means they will play three games against Oman and two games against the UAE, which will provide stiff competition for Eagles head coach Pierre de Bruyn and his team. Not only will they be expected to replicate last year’s perfect run, but it will be important that the Eagles finish in a respectable position in this year’s ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 competition, as that will go a long way in helping them retain their ODI status. Speaking to the CN media desk, de Bruyn admitted that a lot will be at stake when they leave for Dubai, but assured that his boys will be ready to give their opponents a good run for their money.
“This coming tournament is important for the Eagles to work towards retaining Namibia’s ODI status. The conditions at the ICC Academy Oval and at Sharjah cricket grounds are tricky, but we had the opportunity to play at these venues at the recently held World Cup,” said de Bruyn.
The squad: Gerhard Erasmus (c), JJ Smit (vc), Jan Frylinck, Karl Birkenstock, Tangeni Lungameni, Bernard Scholtz, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Craig Williams, Michael van Lingen, Stephen Baard, Ruben Trumpelmann, Zane Green (wk), David Wiese and Helao ya France.