Africa-Press – Namibia. Years of hard work by the Namibian Eagles were rewarded with a thrilling four-wicket victory against South Africa on Saturday.
In the first-ever meeting between the two sides, Zane Green hit the winning runs off the last ball of the match to complete a riveting encounter, which served as a fitting opening of the new FNB Namibia Cricket Ground.
As the Eagles went for a lap of honour to greet the packed crowd, the president of Cricket Namibia (CN), Rudie van Vuuren, said it was the perfect ending to a special day.
“You couldn’t have scripted this better. Not even Steven Spielberg could script this better. The opening of your stadium and a legacy project, all the work over the last eight years just coming together in one moment, in one ball, it all just happens – it’s too much for me, my tank is empty,” he said.
“This is Namibia, this is nation building, and this is why Namibia is such a special country, the best country in the world, because of its people. Today I’m just glad we could give something to the Namibian public, something to be proud of, something to inspire us. This is what can be done in sport in this country, so I hope we can take it further,” he said.
Needing 11 runs to win off Andile Simelane’s last over, Green hit a six off the first ball and then added four more with Ruben Trumpelmann to tie the score at 134, before hitting the last ball of the match for four to complete a stunning victory.
Earlier, Namibia did well to restrict South Africa to 134/8 with Trumpelmann taking three wickets for 28 runs, while Namibia’s other bowlers all weighed in with telling contributions.
Max Heingo (17) made a stunning debut with two wickets for 32 runs, while Gerhard Erasmus, Ben Shikongo, and JJ Smit each took one wicket. Middle-order batter Jason Smith was SA’s top scorer with 31 runs, while Ruben Hermann scored 23 and Lhuan-dre Pretorius 22.
In reply, Namibia got off to a tentative start with Louren Steenkamp scoring 13 and Jan Frylinck and Nicol-Loftie Eaton 7 each, but Erasmus led a brave revival against South Africa’s array of pace bowlers, and when he was dismissed for 21, the match was still evenly balanced at 66/4 midway through their innings.
Namibia’s middle-order batters all made telling contributions with Smit scoring 13 and Malan Kruger 18, but it was Green who shone bright on his 29th birthday with 30 not out off 23 balls, while Trumpelmann added 11 not out as Namibia capped a historical day with a magical victory.
Zane Green in action against SA. Photo: Helge Schütz
Green was at a loss for words after the match.
“I can’t put it into words, but what I can say is that we worked hard for this moment and this day, and we knew it was not going to be easy, but we believed we could do it. We took it one ball at a time, and today the result went our way,” he said.
“It was a step up from associate level, but we would like to play these games more often, competing against the best in the world and just get better from it. I can’t put it into words, for the team, how hard we’ve worked, and everyone from Cricket Namibia, playing in front of our home fans, it was really special,” he said.
Captain Erasmus said it was a special day.
“You can see what it means for the team, if you can look at the crowd’s faces, you can see what it means for them, and that’s what’s so special about playing in front of your home crowd, because you inspire the next generation to play cricket,” he said.
“It’s very important to play against high-quality opposition, and South Africa certainly are, so we thank them for coming to play in such a good spirit and for the skills they put on display for the people to see,” he said.
“We are a small community, but we are a very tight-knit community, not only in the Windhoek area, but all across the country. We had a 17-year-old boy from Walvis Bay making his debut today – he bowled some special overs, and that’s what it’s about for us, it’s about taking the game to every corner of the country.”
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