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Namibia are one of several associate nations with a golden opportunity to produce an impressive showing in the ongoing 2024 T20 World Cup. They are placed in Group B with Australia, England, Oman, and Scotland as the other four teams.
Namibia qualified for the tournament by winning the Africa Regional Finals last year. This is the third time they have qualified for the T20 World Cup after making it in the previous two editions in 2021 and 2022.
The squad has all-rounder Gerhard Erasmus leading them, with former South African cricketer Pierre de Bruyn as their head coach. While De Bruyn did not play for the national side, he boasted excellent numbers in the domestic circuit.
The now-47-year-old played 227 games across formats (First-class, List-A, and T20s), scoring almost 7,000 runs and picking up 180 wickets. De Bruyn was appointed Namibia's head coach in December 2018 and the side has enjoyed tremendous success since.
They defeated Ireland and the Netherlands in the 2021 T20 World Cup Group Stage to advance to the Super 12. In the following edition in 2022, Namibia stunned 2014 champions Sri Lanka in their opening game before missing out on Super 12 qualification.
Namibia pulled off a thrilling win in their 2024 T20 World Cup opener
Namibia began their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign with a thrilling victory over Oman in Barbados on June 2.
Bowling first, Namibia produced an impressive display to dismiss Oman for a sub-par 109. With the bat, they coasted to a comfortable 96/3 in the 18th over, thanks to a solid 45 by Jan Frylinck.
However, an unforeseeable collapse meant Namibia scrapped through to level the scores at the end of their 20 overs, leading to a Super Over. In the extra period, veteran all-rounder David Wiese took the game over, striking 13 off 4 deliveries to help Namibia to a mammoth 21 runs.
He returned to bowl the Super Over and conceded just 10 runs as Namibia pulled off a memorable win in a nail-biting finish. Wiese also picked up figures of 3/28 in the 20-over affair and was adjudged the Player of the Match for his heroic all-round efforts as Namibia opened their campaign with a win.
They will take on Scotland in their next outing at the same venue on Thursday, June 6.
