Africa-Press – Namibia. RUBBING shoulders with the best in the game at the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Oman “was massive” said Cricket Namibia vice president Polly Negongo.
Negongo was a special guest on The Namibian’s Desert Radio Breakfast in the Desert Show with co-hosts John Collin Namene and Arlana Shikongo yesterday.
He canvassed a picture of what it was like coming up against some of the world’s best players and teams. One of the lasting moments from the Eagles maiden T20 World Cup was when cricket behemoths Pakistan swung-by the Namibian dressing room for a chat.
The Pakistanis had just beaten Namibia by 45 runs in the Super 12s but their display of humility and respect for Namibia’s effort was next level, Negongo said.
“That was massive and unexpected. We were just having our post-match meal and the next moment there’s a knock on our door and a few of their players walked in and they congratulated us for the way we performed in the tournament,” Negongo recalled.
“It was a very nice gesture from them. Pakistan saw that in the first half we put them under a lot of pressure and didn’t just come to be used as a vloer lap.” he continued.
The appreciation for their effort reverberated around the intimate arrivals’ lounge at the Hosea Kutako International Airport on Wednesday when a mob of ecstatic fans and family welcomed them back home.
Namibia, ranked a lowly 19, may have been thoroughly beaten in their final three Super 12s matches but left the United Arab Emirates with their reputation greatly enhanced for their history-making exploits. The Eagles made history by making the Super 12s after beating Ireland and the Netherlands in the first round on their first World Cup appearance.
The debutants then upset Scotland with an impressive four-wicket victory in the Super 12s. That was as good as it got for Namibia, who came up short against Afghanistan, Pakistan, holders New Zealand and India.
“We’ve opened the door for our players. That’s massive. You’ve got all these T20 tournaments going on around the world every year and I’m sure some of our players will be pulled into that going forward,” Negongo noted.
“Obviously after our first two wins, everybody was looking at us. All the teams went and did double analysis on Namibia because nobody wanted an upset.
“You must understand we played against number two, three, four in the world and number seven which was Afghanistan. We played against the biggest cricketing sides in the world,” said Negongo.
“So, we can only take it all in and be glad for what we achieved. You just see how advanced those guys are just by the way they go about things. And I can assure you our guys learnt a lot.
“But I think with the little that we’ve got, we exceeded a lot of people’s expectations in terms of what we achieved there.”
The Eagles were not expected to challenge for honours for obvious reasons, let alone win a match. But they won the hearts of many the world over with their fearless and entertaining brand of cricket.
Gerhard Erasmus probably encapsulated the irrepressible spirit of the team better than most, having soldiered through the pain barrier to help his side register three shock wins, said Negongo.
“Our captain [Gerhard Erasmus] is an excellent leader. I don’t know if you know that he played throughout this tournament with a broken finger,” the senior cricket official said.
He picked up the injury in the final warm up. He was given the option to come home immediately. “He was given an ultimatum but said he is not going anywhere. So, for me that would be my player of the tournament.”
Key to Namibia’s success was the decision to go professional two years ago, Negongo said. That investment is raking in rich dividends, as the performances in the Middle East show. Reaching the Super 12s guarantees Namibia a place at next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
“When you want to play at that level, you sort of need to do what people at that level do. You can’t have a guy work eight to five and expect him to compete against a guy who does cricket for a living. It’s just a total mismatch,” Negongo explained.
“If you look at the team physically and mentally where they are now, what they’ve done over the past two years, it’s massive,” he said proudly.
“We’ve gone from zero to probably 90 in no time. We set ourselves little goals everyday of where we wanted to be. Years before that, the idea was to qualify for the T20 World Cup.
“And qualifying for T20 World Cup makes sure that you get more funding from the ICC and develop your structures within the country, and also prepare for the world can.”
Referencing an upcoming amateur football tournament in northern Namibia, Negongo said it was imperative that they pay attention to grassroots development, which will ensure the top ranks are adequately and consistently replenished.
“That is where you align your development structure with your top structure. If you develop well at the bottom, you’ve got a very good feeding system for your top structure. I think that works for any sport code,” Negongo said.
“Development is very important and you need to keep it going and get your players competing on a regular basis.”
After the India match, Erasmus summed it up best when he said: “We can take a lot of positives individually and as a team we’ll take this experience as a whole. It’s a good foundation for us if we want to make the next step [at next year’s T20 World Cup], that’s another awesome thing for us to look forward to. We’ve probably inspired the next generation of cricketers in Namibia.”
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