Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Namibian Eagles started their World Cup Division 2 Tri-Nations series in style with a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Papua New Guinea on Saturday.
Namibia got off to a great start when JJ Smit dismissed Gaudi Toka off the second ball of the match, while sustained pressure by Namibia’s seam bowlers and some great fielding piled on the pressure against PNG.
Sese Bau was run out for 5 after a fine throw from the boundary by Bernard Scholtz, and when Tangeni Lungameni dismissed Hiri Hiri (7) and Charles Amini (2) in quick succession, PNG were struggling at 18/4.
It got worse as JJ Smit dismissed Tony Ura for 6 with the total on 29, but PNG captain Assad Vala managed to revive the innings with a measured knock.
He put on 35 for the sixth wicket with Kiplin Doriga before the latter was bowled by Bernard Scholtz for 16, while Vala went on to score 44 off 90 balls, and with the tail-enders adding some valuable runs the whole team was out for 107.
For Namibia, Tangeni Lungameni (2/9 off 6 overs), JJ Smit (2/12 off 7) and Bernard Scholtz (2/28 off 8) each took two wickets.
The target was never a problem for Namibia’s batsmen who attacked from the outset.
Lohan Louwrens (36 off 24 balls) and Divan La Cock (25 off 27) put on 60 for the opening wicket off only eight overs, before Michael van Lingen (29 not out off 23) and Gerhard Erasmus (13 not out off 17) took them to the winning target off only 15,1 overs.
Namibian coach Pierre de Bruyn said it was a great start.
“You can’t ask for a better start, especially knowing that you’ve got eight ODI’s in a short period of time so you want to start on a winning note, but also in a clinical way so we are taking a lot of positives from this win,” he said, adding that it was a great response after their disappointing T20 World Cup exit.
“The World Cup was bittersweet – the win against Sri Lanka was one of the most clinical matches Ive seen us as a team operating in all three disciplines, but losing two games after that in the last over took a lot out of the guys and that’s why I’m so proud of them, that they could bounce back in this game and put the world cup behind them,” he said.
It was Namibia’s sixth consecutive victory in the World Cup Division 2 tournament, stretching back to July when they beat Nepal by 63 runs in Scotland, while they have now moved past UAE into fourth position on the log. With seven more matches lined up over the next two weeks, Namibia can go even higher and De Bruyn said they will go full out to try and get maximum points.
“Every match is critical in terms of the Cricket World Cup League 2, so you are going to have to scrap for every two points. We want to win eight out of eight, but it’s not going to be that easy against good opposition. If we stick to our blueprint and the way we play at home and use that to our advantage, nothing is impossible,” he said.
Tangeni Lungameni, meanwhile, won the man of the match award for his great bowling figures, and said it was a great feeling.
“I never imagined I’d be man of the match for Namibia, but putting the shirt on this morning I think I took an extra second just to think about who I’m representing and why I’m putting my shirt on, so I think that motivated me coming into the game,” he said.
“Obviously we want to start on the front foot and we wanted to please our home supporters because most of the time they just hear about the good things we have done, so it was great to actually win it here in front of them,” he added.
Namibia got off to a great start when JJ Smit dismissed Gaudi Toka off the second ball of the match, while sustained pressure by Namibia’s seam bowlers and some great fielding piled on the pressure against PNG.
Sese Bau was run out for 5 after a fine throw from the boundary by Bernard Scholtz, and when Tangeni Lungameni dismissed Hiri Hiri (7) and Charles Amini (2) in quick succession, PNG were struggling at 18/4.
It got worse as JJ Smit dismissed Tony Ura for 6 with the total on 29, but PNG captain Assad Vala managed to revive the innings with a measured knock.
He put on 35 for the sixth wicket with Kiplin Doriga before the latter was bowled by Bernard Scholtz for 16, while Vala went on to score 44 off 90 balls, and with the tail-enders adding some valuable runs the whole team was out for 107.
For Namibia, Tangeni Lungameni (2/9 off 6 overs), JJ Smit (2/12 off 7) and Bernard Scholtz (2/28 off 8) each took two wickets.
The target was never a problem for Namibia’s batsmen who attacked from the outset.
Lohan Louwrens (36 off 24 balls) and Divan La Cock (25 off 27) put on 60 for the opening wicket off only eight overs, before Michael van Lingen (29 not out off 23) and Gerhard Erasmus (13 not out off 17) took them to the winning target off only 15,1 overs.
Namibian coach Pierre de Bruyn said it was a great start.
“You can’t ask for a better start, especially knowing that you’ve got eight ODI’s in a short period of time so you want to start on a winning note, but also in a clinical way so we are taking a lot of positives from this win,” he said, adding that it was a great response after their disappointing T20 World Cup exit.
“The World Cup was bittersweet – the win against Sri Lanka was one of the most clinical matches Ive seen us as a team operating in all three disciplines, but losing two games after that in the last over took a lot out of the guys and that’s why I’m so proud of them, that they could bounce back in this game and put the world cup behind them,” he said.
It was Namibia’s sixth consecutive victory in the World Cup Division 2 tournament, stretching back to July when they beat Nepal by 63 runs in Scotland, while they have now moved past UAE into fourth position on the log. With seven more matches lined up over the next two weeks, Namibia can go even higher and De Bruyn said they will go full out to try and get maximum points.
“Every match is critical in terms of the Cricket World Cup League 2, so you are going to have to scrap for every two points. We want to win eight out of eight, but it’s not going to be that easy against good opposition. If we stick to our blueprint and the way we play at home and use that to our advantage, nothing is impossible,” he said.
Tangeni Lungameni, meanwhile, won the man of the match award for his great bowling figures, and said it was a great feeling.
“I never imagined I’d be man of the match for Namibia, but putting the shirt on this morning I think I took an extra second just to think about who I’m representing and why I’m putting my shirt on, so I think that motivated me coming into the game,” he said.
“Obviously we want to start on the front foot and we wanted to please our home supporters because most of the time they just hear about the good things we have done, so it was great to actually win it here in front of them,” he added.
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