The World Cup dream is over
Namibia failed to qualify for the 2007 Cricket World Cup after finishing seventh at the ICC Trophy in Ireland in July.
Only the top five countries qualified, and Namibia were under pressure from the start after controversially losing their opening match to Canada by only two runs. Further losses to Holland, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates put them out of the running and they eventually finished seventh.
It was a bitter blow, following Namibia?s first time participation at the 2003 World Cup, and they will now have to start building for the 2011 World Cup.
Despite the loss, Namibian cricket was very active in 2005, with the national team playing several internationals at home and abroad. These included a historic first visit by test-playing nation New Zealand, and the hosting of the Intercontinental Cup final, which was won by Ireland.
And, showing the way forward was Namibia?s Under 19 team that qualified for the Junior World Cup that takes place in Sri Lanka in February, 2006.
January
Namibia beats Zimbabwe A
A Namibian Board cricket team beat Zimbabwe A 2-0 in a limited overs series in January.
The Namibian selectors used the series to introduce some new blood and players like Niklaas Scholtz, Pieter Rossouw and Dawid Botha were given opportunities to stake their claims in the national side. In the end however, fine performances by Namibia?s established stars like JB Burger, Gerrie Snyman, Bjorn Kotze, Louis Burger and Rudi van Vuuren saw them comfortably beating Zimbabwe A in the three-match series.
JB Burger was once again Namibia?s best batsman with a total of 203 at an average of 50 in four matches.
March
Namibia too strong for MCC
Namibian hosted the Marylebone Cricket Club from England in February, but the visitors hardly provided much of a test for Namibia.
The MCC, which consisted mostly of current and former English County players, was comprehensively beaten by a Namibian Board XI in three limited overs matches.
The first match was rained out, before Namibia won the next two matches by six wickets and 158 runs respectively.
April
Namibian cricket wins international awards
Namibian cricket received international recognition when it won two awards at the International Cricket Council?s (ICC) annual development awards ceremony.
The Namibian Cricket Board (NCB) won the prize for the Best Development Programme in the world, while the Oshakati Cricket Club won the ?Spirit of Cricket? award, due to their commitment to the game.
In March, Namibia won three continental awards from the ICC. The NCB?s development programme won the Best Development Programme for Africa; the Oshakati Cricket Club won the African ?Spirit of Cricket? award; and Jan Greyling, the NCB?s director of development won the African Volunteer of the Year award.
Pakistan too strong for Namibia
At the end of April, Namibia hosted a particularly strong Pakistan A team, that included seven test and limited overs international players.
The captain Misbah-ul-Haq is an experienced test player; while batsmen Hasan Reza, Bazid Khan and Faisal Iqbal, and bowlers Mohammed Khalil, Mohammed Asif and Riaz Afridi had all represented the national Pakistani team before.
The team was also coached by one of the world?s top coaches and the current Pakistani national coach, Bob Woolmer, who had masterminded Pakistan?s limited overs series victory against India prior to the Namibian trip.
Pakistan A won the first ODI by nine wickets, the second by 112 runs, and the third by eight wickets.
In the three-day match between the sides, Namibia escaped with a creditable draw at the Wanderers sports field.
Namibian batsman, Morne Karg, was named player of the match after steering Namibia clear of defeat with a second innings score of 109 not out off 125 balls, ensuring that the match ended in a draw
Cricket joins the fight against AIDS
The Namibia Cricket Board (NCB) became the first Namibian sport code to take a public stand against AIDS when it held a gala dinner auction on April 26, with the proceeds going to the Christina Swart Opperman Aids Orphans Trust Fund (CSOAOTF).
The auction dinner was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Libertine Amathila and several cricket luminaries like the president of the International Cricket Council, Ehsan Mani, the president of the African Cricket Association, Peter Chingoka, the president of the Namibia Cricket Board (NCB), Laurie Pieters, the manager of the Pakistan A cricket team and the coach of Pakistan A, Bob Woolmer.
The dinner concluded a three-day cricket clinic, sponsored by MTC and conducted by former South African cricketing great Gary Kirsten. About 85 Aids orphans from the Shalom Centre and the Namibia Children?s Home participated in the clinic, with Woolmer and Namibian and Pakistani players also assisting with the coaching.
June
Kenya win Intercontinental Cup
In June, Namibia drew their three-day Intercontinental Cup encounter against Kenya, before losing out on bonus points.
In the end, Kenya?s experience told as they held the upper hand throughout the match, while Namibia wilted under the pressure.
Kenya batted first and declared their first innings at 300 for the loss of six wickets. Steve Tikolo scored 86 and Morris Ouma 63, while Kola Burger took 3/35 and Deon Kotze 2/28.
After struggling at 153/5, Namibia recovered well to declare at 335/9. The top batsmen were Louis Burger (87), Gerrie Snyman (75) and Stephan Swanepoel (39).
Kenya declared their second innings at 282/9. Martin Suji top-scored with 72 not out, while Kennedy Obuya added 56 and Steve Tikolo 41. Namibia?s top bowlers were Gerrie Snyman (2/61) and Deon Kotze (2/46).
According to the bonus points system, Namibia then had to score 75 runs without the loss of a wicket to win the bonus points race, but Kenya turned on the pressure and wickets fell regularly. The match was eventually called off with Namibia on 68/5.
July
Namibia?s World Cup dream is over
Namibia failed to qualify for the 2007 Cricket World Cup after coming seventh at the ICC Trophy tournament in Ireland in July.
The top five nations qualified for cricket?s showpiece in the West Indies in two years time, but after finishing fourth in Group B ? the ?Group of Death? which also included Scotland, Canada and Holland, Namibia could only come seventh in the play-off matches.
The nations that qualified were Ireland and Bermuda from Group A, Scotland and Canada from Group B, and Holland, who won the fifth place play-off match.
Controversial loss to Canada
Ironically, Namibia beat both Ireland and Bermuda in warm-up matches, but their tournament got off to a controversial start when they lost their opening match to Canada by two runs.
Canada scored a total of 284 off 50 overs, with Jon Davison (125) and Ian Billcliff (90) leading the onslaught.
Despite the huge target, Namibia attacked from the outset, with Danie Keulder scoring 83, Sarel Burger 42 and Louis Burger 33. Kola Burger added 27, Deon Kotze 24 and Stephan Swanepoel 31 before Namibia were all out with one over remaining, a mere two runs behind Canada?s total.
Namibia?s coach Andy Waller however discovered that the scorers had made a mistake and subtracted two runs from Namibia?s total, and after the match Namibia?s manager Francois Erasmus lodged an appeal with the ICC?s technical committee.
After dismissing Namibia?s appeal, the ICC?s technical committee referred the matter for arbitration to South African Constitutional Court Judge Albie Sachs, who concurred with the ICC technical committee.
The pressure grows
Namibia comfortably beat Papua New Guinea by 98 runs on July 2 as JB Burger and Kola Burger each scored 52 and Sarel Burger took 3/20, but the pressure grew when Holland comprehensively beat Namibia by six wickets two days later.
Namibia were going along steadily at 148/5 when Dutch bowler Edgar Schiferli made a stunning breakthrough to swing the match Holland?s way. He claimed three wickets in one over to leave Namibia reeling at 150/8.
JB Burger scored 29, Danie Keulder 48, Sarel Burger 3, Louis Burger 10, Riaan Walters 12 and Gerrie Snyman 31 before Schiferli struck.
Bas Zuiderent and Tom de Groot then placed Holland firmly on the path to victory with a 135-run partnership for the opening wicket. De Groot was eventually out, caught Ludik, bowled Kola Burger for 55, but Zuiderent went on to make 65 not out to steer Holland to victory with three overs remaining.
Scotland pile on the agony
The agony continued to pile up the next day as Namibia lost by 27 runs to the top seeds of the tournament, Scotland.
Namibia?s match against Scotland was reduced to 33 overs per side after early rain.
F Watts and R Watson put Scotland in charge with a rapid 119-run second wicket partnership. Watts eventually made 47, Watson 87 and C English 40 as Scotland rattled up 236/7.
Namibia?s batsmen attacked from the outset, but wickets fell regularly in the run chase. JB Burger departed for 25, Danie Keulder made 21, Louis Burger 20 and Morne Karg 7.
Gerrie Snyman (45) and Deon Kotze (22) revived Namibia?s hopes with a 56-run fifth wicket partnership but when they were out, the lower order could not maintain the tempo and Namibia was all out for 209.
Namibia beat Oman comfortably
On July 6, Namibia beat Oman by six wickets to finish fourth in Group B.
Oman scored 170/9 off 50 overs, with their top scorers being Muhammad Asif (23), Jitendra Redkar 22 and Awal Khan 60.
Namibia attacked the total from the start as JB Burger (49) and Riaan Walters (28) set a brisk opening stand of 61 runs.
The rest of the middle order contributed with Sarel Burger scoring 10, Louis Burger 14, Deon Kotze 13 not out and Gerrie Snyman 43 not out as Namibia reached 173/4 in the 42nd over.
After finishing fourth, Namibia had to play the third-placed team in Group A ? United Arab Emirates ? with the winner going through to the vital fifth place play-off match.
The World Cup dream is over
Namibia?s World Cup dream finally ended when the UAE beat them by four wickets on July 9.
Namibia?s score of 240 in 50 overs was not enough as the UAE reached the total with three overs remaining.
Namibia scored 240/7 off50 overs, with their top scorers being Gerrie Snyman (83 not out), Deon Kotze (36) and Stephan Swanepoel (26 not out).
Maqsood and Khan swung the match UAE?s way with a 157-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Khan was eventually out for 92, caught Keulder bowled Kola Burger, and although Louis Burger dismissed Ismail for 7, Maqsood (84 not out) and Ali (7 not out) took the UAE to victory with three overs to spare.
Namibia beat Denmark by 103 runs
The players were devastated, but they showed great resolve to come back and beat Denmark by 103 runs to finish the tournament in seventh position.
Namibia won the toss and batted first, scoring 230/9 off their 50 overs.
JB Burger (27), Danie Keulder (28), Sarel Burger (40), Louis Burger (28) and Morne Karg (36) were Namibia?s top scorers.
Denmark?s openers Singh (34) and Klokker (19) scored 49 runs for the first wicket, but when Klokker departed, their run chase effectively ended as wickets continued to fall regularly, and the whole team was dismissed for 127 runs.
Namibia nearly shock New Zealand
Shortly after returning from Ireland, Namibia played host to New Zealand in a historic limited overs series in Windhoek at the end of July.
It was the first time that New Zealand had toured Namibia and the second visit by a full-strength Test nation, following England?s visit in November 2004.
In the first One Day International (ODI) at the Wanderers on July 30, Namibia staged a great comeback before running out of wickets to lose by 29 runs.
New Zealand batted first and scored a huge total of 330 for six wickets off their 50 overs. Their top scorers were openers Craig Cumming (116), James Marshall (36), Hamish Marshall (58), Jacob Oram (23), Nathan Astle (27) and Brendon McCullum (31 not out).
Namibia were all out for 301, just 29 runs short of the victory target.
Namibia?s top scorers were JB Burger (48), Gerrie Snyman (80), Deon Kotze (47), Stephan Swanepoel (50) and Kola Burger (45).
New Zealand win second ODI with ease
The next day New Zealand took control from the start to win the second ODI by 148 runs.
New Zealand scored 326/5 off 50 overs with their top scorers being Brendon McCullum (84), Nathan Astle (73 not out) and Stephen Fleming (58).
Namibia got off to a bad start when JB Burger was bowled for a duck and after ST Ackerman (0) and Louis Burger (6) went cheaply, Namibia never recovered.
Morne Karg scored 29, Dawid Botha (32), Deon Kotze (36) and Stephan Swanepoel (28), as Namibia was all out for 178.
September
Namibia?s juniors show the way
Although Namibia?s senior cricketers failed to qualify for the 2007 World Cup, its juniors instilled confidence for the future with some great performances in September.
Namibia?s national Under 19 team won the African Under 19 qualifying competition in South Africa to qualify for the Junior World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2006, while the national Under 15 team were emphatic winners of the ICC Under 15 South and Central African Cricket Tournament which was hosted by Namibia last month.
Namibia?s Under 15 team won all its matches against five other Southern African countries to win the tournament with 25 points, followed by Botswana (21), Zambia (17), Malawi (13), Mozambique (9) and Lesotho (5).
Salaudin Hasan of Zambia won the Player of the Series award, while Willem Groenewald of Namibia won the batsman of the series award, with an average of more than 100. Nadeem Tajbhay of Botswana was the bowler of the series after taking 15 wickets.
Under 19?s qualify for World Cup
Namibia?s Under 19 team beat Uganda by three wickets in Benoni on August 27 to qualify for the 2006 Junior World Cup in Sri Lanka.
The victory was especially sweet since Uganda had beaten Namibia by four wickets in their previous group encounter.
In the final, Uganda were dismissed for 139 runs, but Namibia had to fight all the way before eventually reaching the winning total with only three wickets remaining.
The spin bowler of Otjiwarongo, Louis Petrus van der Westhuizen won the Player of the Series award, after winning the Player of the Match in three of the four matches that he participated in.
He was also the only Namibian to score a century in the tournament.
October
Ireland make history
Namibia?s status as a growing cricketing nation was underlined by the successful hosting of the ICC Inter-Continental Cup semi-finals and final at the end of October.
In a remarkable final, Kenya dominated the opening day?s play with Steve Tikolo scoring 177 not out and Hitesh Modi 106 to declare at 401/4.
But Ireland?s batsmen got stuck in and gradually whittled away at Kenya?s huge total. Jeremy Bray scored 46, Eoin Morgan 60 and Andre Botha 78, while Niall O? Brien remained unbeaten on 106.
Ireland captain Trent Johnstone then took a huge gamble, declaring at 313/4, still 88 runs behind, but his gamble paid off spectacularly. Martin Suji made a patient 52, and by the start of the final day Kenya had reached 104/3. But then they collapsed, scoring only another 52 runs in total, with the last five wickets falling for just six runs.
Ireland bowled and fielded magnificently, none more so than their spin duo of Lyle McCallan who took 4-34 and Andy White 3-24.
That left Ireland needing 245 for victory and all their top order batsmen contributed in the run chase. Dominic Joyce scored 48, Bray 64, Morgan 22 and O Brien 27, before Botha (43 not out) and Andrew White (25 not out) steered them to victory.
It was an incredible victory and a remarkable turn-around after Kenya?s dominance on the opening day, and was celebrated with gusto by the Irish players and their small band of supporters.
Namibia-Bermuda spat turns sour
Unfortunately Namibia?s admirable organisation and the excellent final was overshadowed by a ?friendly? encounter between Namibia and Bermuda that turned decidedly nasty.
After a youthful Namibian team comfortably won the first friendly by three wickets with nine overs to spare, they tore Bermuda apart in the second friendly on October 28.
JB Burger and Kola Burger put on a batting display never seen before in this country as they treated Bermuda?s bowlers with the utmost ease and contempt.
JB went on to score 150 from 105 balls and Kola scored 127 off 71 balls, while Bjorn Kotze added 62 from 56 balls as Namibia was dismissed for 388 in the 48th over.
Bermuda were never in contention and slumped to 192/7 when the match ended in controversy and chaos.
Chaos and controversy
When Kola Burger bowled three consecutive short balls to Bermudan tail-ender Kevin Hurdle, Bermuda?s coach Gus Logie decided he had had enough and called his players off the field in the face of intimidating bowling.
Tensions then boiled over as both coaches condemned the opposition, with Logie accusing Namibia of dangerous play and sour grapes over their failure to qualify for the World Cup, while Namibian counterpart Andy Waller effectively described the Bermudians as crybabies who didn?t deserve a place at the World Cup.