Namibia got off to a poor start in the Under 19 Cricket World Cup as they suffered heavy defeats in their opening two matches.
On Monday, Sri Lanka beat Namibia by 195 runs and on Tuesday South Africa thrashed them by 209 runs.
In Tuesday’s match, played at the Peter Burge Oval in Brisbane, South Africa got off to a great start as both their openers scored centuries.
Chad Bowes and Quinton de Kock raced along at more than six runs per over, and when Andre Engelbrecht finally bowled Bowes for 115, the total was already on 212 after only 32 overs.
De Kock top scored with 126, before being bowled by Jason Davidson, while Gihahn Cloete added 36 not out and Theunis de Bruyn 27 as South Africa reached a massive 359 for six wickets in their 50 overs.
Zhivago Groenewald was Namibia’s best bowler, taking three wickets for 85, while Andre Engelbrecht took two for 57.
Namibia were immediately under pressure when they lost their first two wickets for only 22 runs on the board, as Wian van Vuuren was dismissed for nine and Justin Baard for one.
Pelham Myburgh tried to steady the innings but wickets continued to fall and when Steven Baard was dismissed for 11 and Malan Kruger for 6, Namibia were in trouble at 50/4.
Myburgh and Gerhard Erasmus put on 42 runs for the fifth wicket before Myburgh’s wicket fell for a top score of 37, while Erasmus made 21.
Zhivago Groenewald added 26 and Jason Davidson 18, but it was never enough as the whole team was out for 150 runs.
Theunis de Bruyn was South Africa’s best bowler, taking four wickets for 20 runs.
On Monday, Namibia lost their opening match at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane against Sri Lanka by 195 runs.
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first, which paid off well for them.
All their top order batsmen made solid contributions with Sebastian Perera scoring 69 and Sandun Weerakkody 50 as they reached a formidable 298 for nine wickets in their 50 overs.
Zhivago Groenewald, with three wickets for 49 runs, was Namibia’s best bowler while Wian van Vuuren took two for 65.
Namibia lost their first wicket when Pelham Myburgh was out for three runs and from then on they were always under pressure.
Wickets fell regularly as Stephan Baard, Malan Kruger and Christopher Coombe were all out for ducks, while only three batsmen managed to reach double figures.
Wian van Vuuren top scored with 38, while Gerhard Erasmus scored 26 not out and Justin Baard 11.
Lahiru Madushanka was Sri Lanka’s best bowler, taking four wickets for 15 runs off six overs.
Namibia’s next match will be against Bangladesh at the Peter Burge Oval on Thursday, August 16.