The T20 History of Namibia
Namibia are a relatively inexperienced Twenty20 cricket team, with the Eagles having not made their bow at a T20 World Cup until 2021. There was great excitement when the African side made an appearance at a tournament hosted by Oman and UAE, with the team acquitting themselves very well in the competition.
The Namibians clashed with Sri Lanka in their opening T20 World Cup match on 18 October and it was a difficult assignment, with the Sri Lankans winning by seven wickets. However, there followed a six wicket victory when beating Netherlands on 20 October and that set them on course for qualification.
The clash against Ireland on 22 October saw Gerhard Erasmus rack up 53 unbeaten runs off 49 balls to win by eight wickets, with Namibia one of the four teams to then line up in the Super 12 to meet some of the bigger opponents.
Life was a lot tougher going when it came to facing teams such as Pakistan or New Zealand, although the African side were able to record a four-wicket win over Scotland and they acquitted themselves well ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Who Holds the T20 Records for Namibia?
Gerhard Erasmus is likely to become the first Namibian batsman to surpass 500 runs and he has led the line well for the team, with JJ Smith currently leading the way when it comes to the most wickets claimed.
Namibia’s highest team total was 324/7 and that was achieved against Oman on 8 January 2020. This was racked up at Oman Cricket Academy, Al Amarat. Meanwhile, the highest individual score was 136 and this was achieved by Jean-Pierre Kotze against the United States on 20 September 2019 at Central Broward Regional Park, Lauderhill.
