Namibia Under-19 yesterday began their World Cup mission in comprehensive fashion, defeating an out-of-sorts Scotland side by nine wickets at Sheikh Kamal International Cricket Stadium.
The convincing win will no doubt boost the confidence of the African nation as they bid to improve on their best-ever finish in the tournament – 11th place among 16 teams in Malaysia eight years ago.
Their task however, is likely to get tougher as the tournament progresses. If the Namibian youngsters are to seal a berth in the next round from Group A then they must beat hosts Bangladesh or reigning champions South Africa.
Namibia coach Norbert Manyande though believes his charges are quite capable of causing an upset or two, just like Nepal who beat New Zealand last Thursday.
“Of course we have the ability to win against Bangladesh. I think it is not only against Bangladesh but we can win against South Africa too. Cricket is a game where anything can happen. We have the ability to go far in this tournament I believe,” Manyande informed the media.
Despite oozing class in their win over Scotland, Associates Namibia are far away from being considered as an established cricketing nation. Till date, the Namibia senior side have taken part in only one World Cup; 13 years ago in South Africa. The experience was not a memorable one for the Namibians as they lost all six of their group-stage matches.
In one of those matches against eventual champions Australia, Namibia experienced the humiliation of being bundled out for just 45.
The U-19 side, in contrast, are a regular fixture in the youth World Cup. Including the ongoing edition, they have appeared seven times in 11 attempts.
Namibia U-19 have also won the ICC Africa U-19 Championship a record four times.
Former Namibia and Zimbabwe A cricketer Manyande, meanwhile, is appearing in his second youth World Cup as head coach and having started their campaign with a comfortable victory, he is placing high expectations on his disciples.
“Playing as a unit is the strength of our team. [Yesterday] our bowling and fielding showed that. There was no bowler who took five wickets but shared the wickets with a combined effort. The team is in high spirit and it is possible to do wonders in cricket if there is unity in the team,” said the 36-year old.
Namibia will face South Africa tomorrow in their next game before taking on the home side in their last group-stage encounter. Both the matches will be played in the coastal town of Cox’s Bazar.