DUBAI: The Netherlands and Namibia joined Papua New Guinea and Ireland in booking their place at the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup in Australia next year.
In the first game, the Netherlands bowled first and had hosts UAE 9 for 5 at one stage and they were never able to recover, eventually positing a score of 80.
Netherlands chased that down with a little under five overs to spare.
In the second game, Namibia batted first and put on a decent 161 for 7 with JJ Smit and Greg Williams batting well.
Captain Gerhard Erasmus led the charge with the ball as Oman were bowled out for 107.
Oman miss chance
Namibia joined PNG, Ireland and the Netherlands in booking their place at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia next year after a 54-run victory over Oman.
Batting first, Namibia posted a solid 161 for 7 with crucial 59 from JJ Smit and 45 from Greg Williams, which were the key to the innings, while Bilal Khan was outstanding with the ball, taking 4 for 19.
At 58-1, Oman were in a good position, with opener Khawar Ali rotating the strike well.
But when he was stumped, the Oman collapse was swift.
Three wickets each for Bernard Scholtz and Gerhard Erasmus did the bulk of the damage, leaving Oman 107 all out.
Oman captain Zeeshan Maqsood said: “It was a really tough game and we were not able to make it.
“We started brilliantly but then JJ Smit’s innings brought Namibia back into the game when he smashed more than 50 runs.
“We started brilliantly with the bat and after six overs no one was able to stay there.
“We have a chance against Hong Kong and we can still make it.”
Namibia captain said: “It has been a phenomenal year for us, coming through Division 2 qualifiers and gaining ODI status and I think this is perfect cap for us and the credit must go to the team and the staff.”
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