Desk Report:
Namibia in the World Cup, Zimbabwe-Kenya await
Namibia has entered the T20 World Cup for the fourth time in a row. They defeated Tanzania by 63 runs in the first semi-final of the African World Cup qualifiers today. JJ Smit was named Man of the Match for his all-round performance.
Zimbabwe is playing Kenya in the second semi-final in Harare. They won the toss and restricted Kenya, who came out to bat, to 122 runs. The winning team will not only advance to the final but also book a ticket to the World Cup.
Earlier, Namibia batted first at the same venue at the invitation of Tanzania. They scored 174 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. Captain Gerhard Erasmus and Smit scored fifties. Erasmus, however, was dismissed for 55 runs off 41 balls for 6 fours. Smit was even more devastating, remaining unbeaten on 61 runs off 43 balls with 1 four and 4 sixes.
Chasing, Tanzania’s fight was stopped at 111 for 8. Ben Shikongo, along with Smit, broke the backbone of the batting early. Smit took 3 wickets for 16 runs in 4 overs. Shikongo also took 3 wickets, conceding 21 runs.
