For the second time in two encounters, Namibia have – yet again – rewritten history and scored a convincing victory against the Proteas.
Louren Steenkamp and Jan Frylinck began briskly for the hosts, as Duan Jansen and Nqobani Mokoena were on the receiving end of plenty of punishment. Frylinck was particularly impressive in his stay, and crossed 50 in 36 balls following Steenkamp’s dismissal.
From then onwards, SA gradually began to bounce back with regular strikes in the second half of the innings. Acting skipper Bjorn Fortuin was the pick of the bowlers, with an economical 2/17 in his 4-over allotment.
In spite of a fantastic start, Namibia were kept to 163, thanks to a solid recovery at the back end from the pacers. However, that would soon change when the new-look Proteas batting lineup headed out to the middle.
The Namibian bowlers scripted yet another brilliant display, as Ruben Trumpelmann and Jack Brassell sent back both the openers for not much. Thereafter, Tony de Zorzi, Rubin Hermann, and Connor Esterhuizen all fell cheaply, while Dewald Brevis had a herculean task on his hands.
It was a proper team effort from the hosts, as all the bowlers built pressure, forcing Brevis to play the big shots under pressure. At one point, the big-hitting right-hander brought the equation below 2 runs a ball, but the constant need for boundaries brought about his downfall with two overs remaining and 31 to get.
Duan Jansen did his best to hang around, but the writing was on the wall. Gerhard Erasmus and JJ Smit gave them nothing to work with in the last couple of overs, and that was that.
It’s yet another monumental day for Associate cricket, and it may take a few moments for this victory to really sink in for Namibia. They have achieved the unthinkable against the 2024 finalists, and now have the upper hand in this tri-series. Meanwhile, the Proteas now have to recover and face Zimbabwe, who are never to be taken lightly.
NAM 163/9 in 20 overs (Frylinck 60, Steenkamp 41 – Subrayen 4-0-32-3, Fortuin 4-1-17-2)
SA 145/9 in 20 overs (Brevis 75 – Trumpelmann 4-0-24-3, Smit 4-0-31-3)
