The Namibian T20 World Cup team’s connection to South Africa

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As the T20 World Cup kicked off Namibia claimed the first victory by defeating none other than Sri Lanka, who have recently won the Asia Cup, by 55 runs. The surprising result came after Namibia scored 93 for 6 wickets in 14.2 overs, prior to the partnership of Jan Frylinck and JJ Smits scoring 70 runs. Ultimately, Sri Lanka were dismissed for 108 runs, where the same pair claimed 3 wickets.

Incidentally, Namibia was defeated by Sri Lanka in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup at the group stage. Since then, the team have self-admittedly made major strides both physically and mentally and made a mark as a nation relatively new to cricket. As a German colony, Namibia’s association with football was stronger, and the nation also obtained freedom from South Africa, before it was allowed back into the world of cricket.

The nation’s cricketing fate changed when Pierre de Bruyn was hired as coach. de Bruyn was a well-known versatile cricketer from South Africa, who had been overshadowed by players like Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock, and Lance Klusener. On his arrival the team was reorganized, and based on his professional experience, assistant staff were hired including Albie Morkel.

According to captain Gerhard Erasmus, it is de Bruyn who is responsible for instilling a winning attitude in the team and making the best of its limited resources. Soon, players from South Africa began to migrate to Namibian teams, especially those who had been overlooked, including Frylinck, Erasmus, Zane Green, and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton. This was followed by the inclusion of David Wiese in the team, who with his international cricketing experience for South Africa, further added to the pool of skilled players.

Namibia is now looking to defeat either the UAE or the Netherlands in the next two matches, to qualify into the Super 12 stage. With closely spaced matches, the time needed to recover is less, and the team is hoping to wrap up the celebrations surrounding Sri Lanka’s defeat, in time for the next game.