Africa-Press – Namibia. The Nedbank Desert Ice Challenge T20 League concluded its 2025 season by celebrating standout performers at an award ceremony which took place at the Nedbank Campus Sky Garden earlier this month.
The awards were the grand finale to a highly competitive tournament, where Team Cricket Generation (Cric Gen) from Walvis Bay claimed the 2025 Nedbank Desert Ice Challenge T20 League title after defeating the Gobabis Bulls in the final.
Cric Gen won the match by 33 runs in the final held at the Namibia Cricket Ground in July.
Okahandja Cricket Club were named the shield winners, and United scooped the bowl winners.
The player of the tournament award went to Willem Groenewald of Tsumeb Old Boys Cricket Club, while William Lottering from Cric Gen was named the best bowler. Several junior players won top awards, highlighting the league’s commitment to youth development.
Ethan du Toit (15) won the impact player of the tournament award for the second year running, after winning the impact player of the match award on seven separate occasions during the tournament. Henre Opperman (17) was named best batter and best fielder.
Speaking after his two wins Opperman, of the Gobabis Cricket Club, underscored the tournament’s value for emerging talent, saying: “I see this tournament as a big opportunity for player development and for building up career points. I learnt that batting consistency plays a very big role in team success.”
Opperman cherished the chance to play alongside and against national team players, saying it was good playing with experienced people as they taught him a lot by sharing their experiences with him and other young players.
Chairperson of organisers at Impact Cricket, Willie Junius, reflected on the league’s rise, saying it has expanded from three clubs at its inception to 12.
“We had 14 teams trying to come on board, eventually settling on 12. The interest is phenomenal. We’re at a stage now where sponsors are getting involved, teams are getting new, branded kits with animal themes, and we’ve partnered with Synergi for professional broadcasting. That’s a huge step up from a video camera on a normal phone to a professional broadcast camera.”
Looking ahead, Junius revealed innovations for next season, including one-hand catch prizes for the fans, a more defined Super Sub rule, and unique scoring additions like 12 runs for a six hit further than five metres and run penalties for the loss of a top-end batsman’s wicket. He say he has plans to expand the tournament to more regions and a new focus on developing cricket by establishing partnerships with government schools to provide training and equipment.
Head of beyond banking at Nedbank Namibia, Roean Kruger, said the bank’s dedication to the Nedbank Desert Ice Cricket is intact.
“As money experts who do good, the Impact Cricket team is truly the go-to for us. From day one, we were keen to work with them because they are big on development, big on sport, and getting the right culture out there, something Nedbank wants to be associated with.”
The 2025 Nedbank Desert Ice Challenge T20 League, saw a total of 46 matches played with 11 637 runs scored, including six centuries, 43 50s, and 930 fours were scored.
There were 87 players dismissed for ducks, 515 wickets taken, 26 runouts, and 424 sixes struck during the tournament.
Twelve teams, namely Unan Zebras Legends, Gobabis Bulls, CCD Tigers, Cricket Generation Academy, Okahandja Cricket Club, Windhoek Affies, Unam Zebras Strikers, Cricket Club, Run Whisperers Academy, Over 40s Cricket Veterans, Green Mambas, and Tsumeb Old Boys Cricket Club, all battled it out throughout the season.
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