Cricket

Namibia’s U19 cricket coach Norbert Manyande has praised his players after they beat Kenya in the final of the African World Cup qualifiers in Uganda, saying that he was confident that they would win the match.

“The boys did very well and as their coach I am very proud of them. We came here with one goal which was to win the tournament and we did exactly that under difficult conditions,” he said.

Namibia could only score 173 in 47,2 overs but Manyande said he knew it would be enough to win the match.

JJ Smit claimed a match-defining hattrick to dent Kenya's chances of lifting the Pepsi ICC Africa U-19 title to inspire Namibia to a 52 run win and qualify for next year's U-19 World Cup due in the United Arab Emirates.

Namibia also becomes the third African country that will represent the continent. They join Zimbabwe and South Africa, who are permanent members.

Smit claimed the wicket of Gurdeep Singh (01) who was trapped leg before in only the 3rd ball of the innings. Smit was reintroduced in the 35th over and he blew away the Kenyan middle order in a devastating spell.

Namibia qualified for the Junior Cricket World Cup when they beat Kenya by 52 runs on Friday.

Namibia elected to bat and were all out for 173 off 47,3 overs.

Xander Pitchers top scored with 52 while JP Kotze added 43 and Gerhard Erasmus 27.

Kenya were then bundled out for 121 off 40 overs.

Hamza Malik was Kenya’s top scorer with 47 while JJ Smit took 4 wickets for 17 runs.

The scorecard:

http://www.ugandacricket.com/Tournaments/Pepsi%20ICC%20Africa%20U19%2020...

Craig Williams capped a great season by winning the Namibian Cricketer of the Year award at Cricket Namibia’s annual awards ceremony on Saturday night.

Williams was Namibia’s top run scorer in first class matches, scoring a total of 898 runs in 20 innings’ at an average of 49,88.

In the process he scored four centuries with a top score of 140 against Kenya, while his average was only surpassed by Gerrie Snyman, who had an average of 54,16 from seven innings’.

Namibia thrashed Tanzania by 10 wickets to notch up their third successive victory at the Africa Under 19 World Cup Qualifiers in Uganda on Tuesday.

Tanzania were all out for 102, while Namibia reached the winning target without the loss of a wicket.

Tanzania won the toss and elected to bat but their batsmen were soon in trouble against Namibia’s pace attack, as they slumped to 32 for three wickets.

Arshaan Jasani (21) and Zamoyoni Jabeneke (32) led a bit of a fightback but wickets fell regularly as Tanzania were all out for 102.

Xander Pitchers helped Namibia post a massive total of of 334/7 in their 50 overs and thrash Zambia by 287 runs on Monday.

Namibia lost Zane Green in the 7th over with the score on 31, but from then on they took control as Xander Pitchers and Michau du Preez put put on 161 runs for the second wicket.

After Namibia lost Du Preez for 61 in the 37th over, skipper Gerhard Erasmus joined Pitchers for a 90 run stand before Pitchers was bowled in the 46th over for an astonishing 161 off 143 balls. This innings included 16 fours and 3 sixes.

Namibia’s Under 19 cricket team got off to a winning start at the Africa Under 19 World Cup qualifiers in Entebbe on Saturday when they beat Uganda by four wickets.

Uganda elected to bat but were dismissed for 121 runs off only 37 of their 50 overs.

Namibia reached the winning target off 46 overs with four wickets remaining.

Uganda’s batsmen struggled against Namibia’s bowling attack led by JJ SMit and Tiaan Snyman as they slumped to 45 for six wickets.

Namibia’s national Under 19 cricket team left for Uganda on Thursday to compete in the African qualifiers for next year’s Junior World Cup.

Only the winning team will qualify for the 2014 Junior World Cup in Dubai, but at a capping ceremony on Wednesday night the team was in high spirits and determined to qualify.

Namibia qualified for last year’s Junior World Cup in Australia and with five members of the 14-man squad remaining from that team, their chances are good of qualifying for the second successive time.

Namibia won the T20 Four Nations trophy on Wednesday after beating Kenya by five wickets off the last ball of the match.

In a thrilling finish Namibia needed 15 runs off the final over and a big six by captain Sarel Burger helped them reach the total.

Kenya had earlier posted a formidable total of 187 for 5 with all their top order batsmen weighing in with good contributions.

Tanmay Mishra top scored with 68 from 53 balls while Alex Obanda scored 30, Morris Ouma 29 and Collins Obuya 28.

Namibia reached the final of the T20 Four Nations competition when they beat Kenya by eight wickets in their final group match on Tuesday.

Raymond van Schoor (67 not out) and LP van der Westhuizen (62) were Namibia’s heroes as they shared a 124-run second wicket partnership to steer Namibia towards a nailbiting victory with three balls remaining.

Kenya had earlier reached a big total of 190 for five wickets off their 20 overs, as most of their batsmen weighed in with valuable contributions.