A brilliant double century by Gerrie Snyman gave Namibia a remarkable 101-run victory over Kenya on Thursday, which saw them moving to the top of the ICC Inter-Continental Cup log for the first time.
Snyman totally dominated Namibiaâ??s second innings, scoring 230 runs out of Namibiaâ??s total of 282, or more than 80 per cent of the total.
It was an unbelievable innings as Snyman threw caution to the wind and attacked the Kenyan bowling with disdain. When he arrived at the crease Namibia were 42/4 in their second innings â?? still four runs behind Kenyaâ??s first innings â?? but his brilliant knock swung the match Namibiaâ??s way.
Snyman dominates innings
Snyman received very little support from Namibiaâ??s batsmen, with only Michael Durant reaching double figures, but such was Snymanâ??s dominance that he put on 133 runs for the seventh wicket with Durant, who was eventually out for a dogged 13.
Snyman went on to hit 22 fours and 11 sixes, while his total of 230 runs came off only 201 balls at an amazing strike rate of 114.42.
Snymanâ??s brilliant innings followed on his great performances at the ICC World Cricket Division 2 competition in Windhoek in December, where he won the player of the tournament award after scoring 588 runs at an average of 147. But his latest knock was arguably even better, since it came in a four-day match and not in the limited overs edition where high run rates are the norm.
Poor start for Namibia
Once again, Namibia had a poor start and had to overcome a first innings deficit to win the match.
Kenya won the toss and sent Namibia in to bat and soon made a breakthrough. Dawid Botha was dismissed for a duck and JB Burger for 9 as Namibia slumped to 12/2. Snyman showed a glimpse of what was to come, hitting a six and three fours before he was out for 24, to leave Namibia struggling at 3/49.
Namibiaâ??s middle order all got amongst the runs but none could build up a big score. Louis Burger scored 19 and Bjorn Kotze 23, but when Raymond van Schoor was out for 39, it was the start of a collapse. Steve Tikolo dismissed Michael Durant and Wilbur Slabber off successive balls to leave Namibia reeling at 137/8.
Tobie Verwey however added a bit of respectability with a brisk 43 not out as Namibia reached 183 all out.
Steve Tikolo (3/24) and Varaiya (3/33) were Kenyaâ??s best bowlers.
Kenya take the lead
Namibiaâ??s opening bowlers Louis Klazinga and Kola Burger soon had Kenya in trouble, dismissing Obuya and Obanda for a duck each. When D Suji was out for 5 and M Ouma for 32 Kenya wre struggling at 42/4, but their middle order came to the rescue.
Steve Tikolo scored 45 off 45 balls, T Odoyo 37 and C Obuya a patient 76 not out as Kenya reached a total of 229 for a first innings lead of 46 runs.
Kola Burger was Namibiaâ??s most successful bowler taking 5/68 off 25 overs, while Louis Klazinga took 2/52 and Bjorn Kotze 2/23.
Snyman to the rescue
Namibia once again had a poor start to their second innings with Dawid Botha out for his second duck of the match, while JB Burger was out for 5 and Raymond van Schoor for 7. But that set the stage for Snymanâ??s fantastic innings which put Namibia firmly in control.
When Snyman was last man out for 230 runs Namibia were all out for 282, setting Kenya a victory target of 236 runs.
But none of Kenyaâ??s batsmen could get going as Namibiaâ??s bowlers took control of the match. Kola Burger removed the top order and Bjorn Kotze took two wickets in an over to leave Kenya at 4/50, from which they could not recover.
The whole team was eventually out for 135 runs â?? still 101 runs short of the victory target.
Namibia go top of log
Namibia earned 14 points for the victory, which saw them overtaking Kenya to go top of the log with 48 points from three matches.
Kenya, who earned six points, went second on 46 points from three matches, followed by the Netherlands on 34 points from three matches.
The defending champions Ireland are fourth on 29 points from two matches, followed by Scotland on 26 from three matches, Canada (26 from 4), UAE (23 from 4) and Bermuda (6 from 4).
Kenya is however likely to regain the top spot next week when they take on the UAE in Dubai.