Eagles play for World Cup survival
Only the top-two teams will rub shoulders with Scotland, Oman, Nepal and Zimbabwe in June and July in Zimbabwe.
Cricket Namibia announced its group of 14 Richelieu Eagles late last week, who from Sunday until 5 April have a tough challenge ahead in their quest to remain in the race for World Cup qualification.
The International Cricket Council's play-off tournament on the road to the final qualifying event for the ultimate World Cup began in Windhoek this weekend – a hurdle the Eagles could clear if they had collected just one more league point in the World Cup League Two series over the past four years.
Namibia, Jersey, Canada, Papua New Guinea, the USA and the United Arab Emirates are set to play one match each against each other in the capital from Sunday, with the Eagles set to play the USA in the opening match on Sunday at Wanderers.
No final will be played, and only the top two teams on the points table after five matches will participate in the final qualifying tournament (June-July in Zimbabwe) for the 2023 One-Day World Cup (October-November in India).
Injury losses
With versatile all-rounders JJ Smit (knee) and Jan Frylinck (hamstring) still injured and opening batsman Lo-han Louwrens (shoulder surgery) and all-rounder Tangeni Lungameni (leg injury) now also on the sidelines, the Eagles are without much of their potential firepower.
After an unstoppable season in club cricket, Wanderers' opening batsman Niko Davin has been called up again, and Michau du Preez also gets another chance. Du Preez can, if necessary, successfully keep wicket behind the stumps.
In addition to Davin's more than 600 runs in the premier one-day league for Wanderers, he is also excellent in the field. With Louwrens out of contention, he will open the batting for Namibia alongside Michael van Lingen.
Namibia's batting success depends largely on this duo, Gerhard Erasmus, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Zane Green and Ruben Trumpelmann. Picky Ya France is unpredictable, but he can keep the scoreboard ticking on any given day.
David Wiese has indicated that he will only represent Namibia in international T20 matches from now on and will no longer be available for one-day cricket. After contributing to the Lahore Qalandars' second consecutive triumph in the Pakistan Super League last week and soon to play in the Indian Premier League, he would have been a valuable asset for the Eagles as always.
Frylinck's fearless approach with the ball in hand will certainly be missed. His bowling skill in the last few overs absent, placing extra pressure on the Eagles' batsmen to score enough runs.
The Eagles will play in their own backyard, but they will have to make maximum use of the local conditions on the United and Wanderers' pitches. The strategies that coach Pierre de Bruyn and his men come up with, and whether luck is on their side, will keep cricket fans glued for the next two weeks.
Trumpelmann and Ben Shikongo (fast bowlers), Bernard Scholtz and Erasmus (spin bowlers) are among the key members of the bowling attack who, together with the fielding efforts, will need to make the breakthroughs.
The Eagles group is: Gerhard Erasmus (captain), Shaun Fouché, Niko Davin, Michael van Lingen, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Michau du Preez, Zane Green (wicket-keeper), Picky Ya France, Bernard Scholtz, Ruben Trumpelmann, Ben Shikongo, Joshuan Julius, Mauritius Ngupita, Karl Birkenstock.
– [email protected]
The International Cricket Council's play-off tournament on the road to the final qualifying event for the ultimate World Cup began in Windhoek this weekend – a hurdle the Eagles could clear if they had collected just one more league point in the World Cup League Two series over the past four years.
Namibia, Jersey, Canada, Papua New Guinea, the USA and the United Arab Emirates are set to play one match each against each other in the capital from Sunday, with the Eagles set to play the USA in the opening match on Sunday at Wanderers.
No final will be played, and only the top two teams on the points table after five matches will participate in the final qualifying tournament (June-July in Zimbabwe) for the 2023 One-Day World Cup (October-November in India).
Injury losses
With versatile all-rounders JJ Smit (knee) and Jan Frylinck (hamstring) still injured and opening batsman Lo-han Louwrens (shoulder surgery) and all-rounder Tangeni Lungameni (leg injury) now also on the sidelines, the Eagles are without much of their potential firepower.
After an unstoppable season in club cricket, Wanderers' opening batsman Niko Davin has been called up again, and Michau du Preez also gets another chance. Du Preez can, if necessary, successfully keep wicket behind the stumps.
In addition to Davin's more than 600 runs in the premier one-day league for Wanderers, he is also excellent in the field. With Louwrens out of contention, he will open the batting for Namibia alongside Michael van Lingen.
Namibia's batting success depends largely on this duo, Gerhard Erasmus, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Zane Green and Ruben Trumpelmann. Picky Ya France is unpredictable, but he can keep the scoreboard ticking on any given day.
David Wiese has indicated that he will only represent Namibia in international T20 matches from now on and will no longer be available for one-day cricket. After contributing to the Lahore Qalandars' second consecutive triumph in the Pakistan Super League last week and soon to play in the Indian Premier League, he would have been a valuable asset for the Eagles as always.
Frylinck's fearless approach with the ball in hand will certainly be missed. His bowling skill in the last few overs absent, placing extra pressure on the Eagles' batsmen to score enough runs.
The Eagles will play in their own backyard, but they will have to make maximum use of the local conditions on the United and Wanderers' pitches. The strategies that coach Pierre de Bruyn and his men come up with, and whether luck is on their side, will keep cricket fans glued for the next two weeks.
Trumpelmann and Ben Shikongo (fast bowlers), Bernard Scholtz and Erasmus (spin bowlers) are among the key members of the bowling attack who, together with the fielding efforts, will need to make the breakthroughs.
The Eagles group is: Gerhard Erasmus (captain), Shaun Fouché, Niko Davin, Michael van Lingen, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Michau du Preez, Zane Green (wicket-keeper), Picky Ya France, Bernard Scholtz, Ruben Trumpelmann, Ben Shikongo, Joshuan Julius, Mauritius Ngupita, Karl Birkenstock.
– [email protected]
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