The Namibian cricket selectors have named a 15-man team for the Under 19 Cricket World Cup which takes place in Australia from August 11 to 25, 2012.
The squad was selected following a competitive series of trials, and coach Doug Watson said he was happy with the players at his disposal.
“It’s an exciting squad, and one that was selected with one objective in mind, qualifying for the Super Eights. We have guys that can play different roles for us and that will be crucial at certain times,” he said.
Namibia’s first five matches at the U19 CWC will be against Full Test Nations. These include warm-up matches against the West Indies and Zimbabwe and their Pool D matches against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
In order for Namibia to reach the playoff rounds they would need to end second in their pool and this will require at least two out of three wins.
“This will be a tough assignment for the small cricketing nation, but Namibia has always been competitive in international tournaments,” Cricket Namibia said in a statement.
The Namibian team includes several players who have already represented the Namibian senior team. They are opening batsman Wian van Vuuren, wicket keeper-batsman Gerhard Erasmus, all rounders Steven Baard, Bredell Wessels and Zhivago Groenewald and pace bowlers Andre Engelbrecht and Christopher Coombe.
Most of the players were members of the Namibian squad that finished sixth at the World Cup qualifiers in Ireland last year. The other Associate member countries that qualified at that tournament were Scotland, Nepal, Ireland, Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea.
Namibia’s Pool matches at the World Cup are against Sri Lanka on August 13, South Africa on August 14 and Bangladesh on August 16.
The Namibian squad is as follows:
Wian van Vuuren, Justin Baard, Pelham Myburgh, MP Delport, Steven Baard, Gerhard Erasmus, Xander Pitchers, Bredell Wessels, Zhivago Groenewald, Luke Bolton, Christopher Coombe, Jano Coetzee, Jason Davidson, Malan Kruger and Andre Engelbrecht.
The non-traveeling reserves are Shalako Groenewald, Christiaan Labuschagne, Kobus Brand and Michau du Preez.