Namibia capped off a brilliant week at the ICC World Cricket League Division Two – where they also secured one-day international status – with a 145-run thumping of Oman in the tournament final in Windhoek on Saturday, 27 April.
The victory was scripted by the home team's bowlers, who bowled Oman out for 81 in a 227-run chase on a surface conducive to batting. The bowling attack has been excellent throughout the tournament, returning 53 wickets in six games.
On Saturday, JJ Smit and Jan Frylinck, the new-ball bowlers, picked up eight wickets between them to break the spine of the run chase. They had also made vital contributions with the bat to help Namibia cross 200. "JJ Smit and young Frylinck taking the new ball – they've been absolutely superb," Gerhard Erasmus, the Namibia captain, said.
"Credit to them for picking up [awards]. One's got Player of the Tournament, one's got Player of the Match in a final. It's a cruel job to run in for six games in nine days. They've just done it without moaning all week.
"I walked up here this morning and [while] checking out the pitch, I considered yesterday's game. We did know that this was probably a better wicket. I had no hesitation to bat [first] today."
The surface, however, still posed its challenges. "Batting today was tough. Everybody is tired," said Frylinck, who smashed a 6-ball 16* and returned 5/13 in the chase. "But you need to find that gear inside you just to keep going. The final push. The whole bowling unit seemed to find that gear today and it worked out really well for us."
With 221 runs and 13 scalps across six games, Smit was declared Player of the Tournament. He made an impact on the final as well, notching up a 29-ball 30 and returning 3/21 with the ball. "It was tough. The conditions weren't favouring the bowlers much," he said. "A lot of runs [were scored], but we managed to bowl out teams cheaply. That comes down to our grit and fight."
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