Cricket Namibia contracts professional players

In a bid to improve the performances of the national team, Cricket Namibia (CN) has contracted nine full-time professional players following a disappointing 2009-10 season and to lure Namibia-born players from other countries.

Kallie Engelbrecht, CN Executive Committee Member, said on Namibia Sport website: "From June 1, we have contracted nine professional cricket players who will only play cricket - that's their job. We decided that something drastic needs to be done to lift the standard of Namibian cricket."

"We also took our cues from other countries, because if you look at a country like Scotland for instance, their team includes about four Afrikaners and several Indian players, so we have decided to look further abroad for Namibia-born players. Players like David Wiese and Faf du Plessis are doing very well in South Africa, and although we cannot afford to contract them for a whole season, we must see if we can use them in ICC competitions," he said.

He agreed that the national team had a disappointing season in the South African SAA competition, finishing ninth in the three-day game and 13th in the one-day competition.

"Most of our players have full-time jobs so many were not available throughout the season and some only played two matches for the whole season. But this has also opened opportunities for some youngsters and some have played very well," he added.