While welcoming the national senior cricket side, the Eagles, at the Hosea Kutako International Airport upon their return from Abu Dhabi yesterday, where they partook in the ongoing T20 ICC World Cup, Cricket Namibia CEO Johan Muller made it known that plans are already in motion for their participation at next year’s World Cup in Australia.

Muller, who was yesterday joined by a throng of Namibians at the Hosea Kutako International Airport to welcome, meet and greet the returning Eagles, told the media that CN has already started working around the clock to ensure the team is well prepared and gets enough game time ahead of the 2022 T20 ICC World Cup.

At the ongoing World Cup in Abu Dhabi, Namibia bowed out in the Super 12 round after a strong start to the opening round, which saw them beat Ireland and Netherlands to advance to the Super 12s.

In the Super 12 round, the Eagles maintained their strong start with a win over Scotland in the first match before going down to world cricket powerhouses Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand and India as they eventually bowed out of the competition.

Despite the exit, the Namibians made history by reaching the Super 12 round of the World Cup for the first time ever, and that achievement was enough to automatically earn them a spot at next year’s World Cup.

However, Muller yesterday said there is no time for the Eagles to rest on their laurels, as work towards next year’s World Cup project and the nurturing of the next crop of players all have to begin now.

“We now have to work towards ensuring that the team gets enough game time against strong opponents; we have to remain competitive. We have enough experience in our current squad, but the development of young talents has to continue at all development levels of our programmes. The journey towards next year’s World Cup has started, and we are not going to delay it,” said a determined Muller.

- ohembapu@nepc.com.na