Namibia maintained its impressive run in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier UAE 2012 when it defeated the United States of America (USA) by 17 runs in a Group B match at the ICC GCA Oval 2 on Thursday.
USA celebrates the fall of a wicket. Photo: ICC
Opener Raymond van Schoor struck a fine 79 and captain Craig Williams chipped in with a 41 as Namibia posted 177 for four. In turn, the USA fought gallantly before finishing at 160 for seven.
Man of the match van Schoor slapped 11 fours in a 55-ball 79 and after putting on 49 runs for the first wicket with Gerrie Snyman (29), he added 56 runs for the third wicket with Williams whose 41 came off26 balls and includes two fours and three sixes.
In turn, the USA showed a lot of grit and fight but ended up 17 runs short at 160 for eight. The USA was in the hunt when Aditya Mishra and Orlando Baker were at the crease. But as soon as their 40-run fourth wicket partnership ended at the score of 117 in 14.1 overs, it was all over for the USA.
Mishra was first to depart after he was clean bowled by Christi Viljoen after scoring 53 off 34 balls with two fours and fix sixes. Fourteen balls and 15 runs later, Baker returned to the hut – once again falling to Viljoen.
Namibia captain Craig William had all the reasons to be happy as this was his side’s third straight victory in the tournament after it earlier beaten Ireland and Scotland. He said: “Obviously, it is great position to be in a. We won all our three matches, including two against the more dangerous and experienced sides like Ireland and Scotland, which is something we were hoping for.
“But there is still a long way to go and we need to stay focused and continue to work hard.”
William was also happy with the performance of his top order batsmen. “They have been doing a great job. Louis van der Westhuizen and Raymond van Schoor have showed and maintained good form.
“I am happy with the overall performance of the team as everyone has contributed evenly. But as said earlier, it is a 12-day tournament and we have just finished day three here. So, we need to continue to work hard, take one match at a time and try to improve our performance with every match.”
Van Schoor later said: “We’re pretty delighted with how it is all going so far. We bowled well in the first two games. It was a bit lacking today in the bowling and fielding department, so we know we need to pick it up tomorrow.
“It is nice to make some runs. 30’s and 40’s don’t count here, so it is nice to make a score and give the bowlers something to bowl at.
“We’re just taking it day by day and we’ll see what happens in the next game.
“It will be a tough game against Uganda. We are both African countries, we know each other and I think it will be a good game. We’ll certainly try and get revenge against them.”
Scores in brief
Namibia beat USA by 17 runs at ICC GCA, Oval 2
Namibia 177-4, 20 overs (Raymond van Schoor 79, Craig Williams 41, Gerrie Snyman 29)
USA 160-7, 20 overs (Aditya Mishra 53, Orlando Baker 38, Steve Taylor 21; Christi Viljoen 2-21)
Man of the match – Raymond van Schoor