T20 World Cup Namibia

The 19th associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Namibia Cricket Team has been representing the Republic of Namibia in various international tournaments since its inception in 1992. A team that was passionate about cricket even before they gained their independence in 1990, the Namibia national cricket team is today a proud associate member that plays both One Day Internationals and T20 Internationals. Currently, ranked 16th in the ICC T20 ranking, the Namibia men's team, under Namibia T20 World Cup captain Gerhard Erasmus, made history recently by making it to the Super 12s on debut in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup, 2021. By doing so, this spirited Namibia team for the T20 World Cup also confirmed their berth for the upcoming ICC men T20 World Cup 2022 scheduled October-November 2022 in host Australia.

Even though Namibia became the Sovereign Republic only in the early 1990s, some records show that this proud African nation was playing cricket as early as during the first World War. During the German rule in Namibia, cricket was a sport that united the prisoners in the Okahandja Prisoner of War (POW) camp. Played between various clubs that were formed by the inmates in the POW camps, this sport enjoyed popularity in Namibia even during those troubled times.

Once Germany was defeated and Namibia came under the League of Nations, this sport continued to gain popularity as a part of the western province. In fact, the province even formed an association in 1930 called the South West African Cricket Union and organised tournaments and matches were conducted. Namibia even played their first international match before gaining independence by touring Botswana in 1989.

It was not until April 2018 when Namibia was granted a full T20 International status, and the national cricket team played their first-ever T20 match on 20th May 2019. Not only did Namibia play their first T20 International in this Regional Final of the ICC World Twenty20 Africa Qualifying tournament in 2018–19, but they faced Ghana, with their then Namibia T20 World Cup captain, Stephan Baard, top-scoring a sublime 52 not out.

Namibia Team for T20 World Cup made 2021 their Golden Year by achieving their many firsts in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Under Gerhard Erasmus, Namibia’s T20 World Cup captain, some of the firsts they achieved include:

• Qualified and participated in their first-ever T20 World Cup in the UAE
• Enjoyed their first-ever win in a T20 World Cup tournament by beating the Netherlands team
• Beat Netherlands for the first time in T20 International
• Qualified for the Super 12 stage in their first-ever World Cup tournament
• Won their first-ever win in the Super 12s stage of the World Cup by beating Scotland by 4 wickets
• By qualifying for the Super 12 stage in the 2021 T20 World Cup, Bangladesh, Namibia, Scotland, and Sri Lanka won their tickets to participate in the ICC men T20 World Cup 2022

Indeed, no team has officially announced their squads for the upcoming ICC men T20 World Cup 2022, including host Australia, later this year. However, going by the stats, given the stellar performance of the Namibia team for the T20 World Cup 2021 held in the UAE, and given the compact nature of the team composition of the Namibia cricket team, most of the following members could play in the squad under Namibia T20 World Cup captain, Gerhard Erasmus.

A team that was granted their Full T20 International status by the ICC only in April 2018 and played their first International T20 match only in May 2019. Since then, the Namibia men’s cricket team has not seen too many changes in their captains or the coaching staff.

To know more on Namibia fantasy cricket playing11, match previews, predictions, etc., stay tuned on Dream11.

• Namibia Cricket Team Captains in T20 International:

Pierre de Bruyn, who played international cricket for South Africa, took over the reins of the Namibian national team in January 2019 as their coach and has been one of the most successful coaches for the team, with qualification to back-to-back T20 World Cups.

The Namibian cricket team took their first giant leap into the international T20 World Cup by qualifying for the 2021 T20 World Cup that was played in the UAE. They finished 4th in April 2019 in the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two. Charged up with their qualification, the Namibia men’s cricket team went on to register their first-ever win over the Netherlands by 6 wickets. They also rewrote history by qualifying for the super 12 stage in their very first T20 World Cup by beating Ireland by 8 wickets.

Their fairy tale didn’t end just there. They even beat Scotland in the Super 12s stage by 4 wickets. Under Namibia T20 World Cup captain Gerhard Erasmus, Namibia stamped their mark in this gentleman’s sport and, in the process, also got their seat for participating in the 2022 ICC World Cup to be held in Australia in October-November 2022.

A team that created ripples in their first-ever T20 World Cup tournament by qualifying for the Super 12 stage, the Namibia team is no pushover in the upcoming T20 World Cup, 2022. Slotted in Group A together with Sri Lanka, the Namibian team would surely qualify for the second stage for the second time in a row. A team that has shown a lot of grit and determination to compete in the past, this team - under Namibia T20 World Cup captain Gerhard Erasmus - is sure to provide the Fantasy Cricket players, spectators, and the team supporters value for their money.

To know more on Namibia fantasy cricket playing11, match previews, predictions, etc., stay tuned on Dream11.