Series: Africa World Cup Qualifiers Sep 2021
Venue: BCA 2, Gaborone
Format: T20I
Toss: Sierra Leone
Result: Namibia by 57 runs
Quiet Achievers Namibia Secure Top Spot
Namibia have spent this tournament going about their business in such a clinical way they almost go unnoticed, leading the table in Group B.
Sent in to bat after Sierra Leone’s Linda Bull won the toss, Sune Wittmann (52) and Adri van der Merwe (24) put together a half century opening stand before the latter was dismissed by the impressive young allrounder, Fatu Pessima (2-16). Zainab Kamara (3-25) dismissed the dangerous middle order duo of Yasmeen Khan (7) and Kayleen Green (12) but Namibia bat deep and a solid cameo by Jurriene Diergaardt (31*) helped Namibia to a good score of 144/6.
Notably for Sierra Leone they gave away only 7 wides and 2 no-balls, quite impressive where the tournament average for these extras is considerably higher. That quality not matched by their batting, but importantly they batted out the overs, finishing with 87/9. Getting those small things right bodes well for the future of this team.
Notably for Namibia, Kayleen Green took the gloves while regular keeper Yasmeen Khan took 3-10 to be the best of the Namibia bowlers. They certainly are a versatile team and will figure well in the finals.
Scores:
Namibia 144/6 (Sune Wittmann 52, Jurriene Diergaardt 31*, Zainab Kamara 3-25, Fatu Pessima 2-16) 20 overs
Sierra Leone 87/9 (Marie Turay 18, Yasmeen Khan 3-10, Sylvia Shihepo 2-13) 20 overs
Player of the Match: Sune Wittmann