Day 6 Talking Points: Historic day for Namibia, Sri Lanka's fine form continues

NAMIBIA V IRELAND

MATCH CENTRE | MATCH REPORT

Wiese does it again

Namibia's approach to the chase raised a few eyebrows initially as they went against the norm of batting at Sharjah, choosing to preserve their wickets instead of going for it in the Powerplay.

The wicket of well-set Zane Green would have sent a few jitters in the Namibia camp but David Wiese ensured that the pressure was back on the Ireland team.

Having been at the crease for just three balls, Wiese smashed Craig Young for two sixes off consecutive balls, bringing the asking rate down from over 8 to 6.5.

Erasmus finished it off for Namibia with a half-century but it was Wiese's unbeaten 14-ball 28 that breathed life into a stuttering chase.

Stirling sizzles in the heat

Paul Stirling was the only player on both sides who looked at ease during the opening overs in difficult conditions.

After a sedate first over, Stirling smacked a four and a six off the next two. The introduction of spin didn't hinder his approach; in fact, he relished the opportunity as he took the attack to Bernard Scholtz, hitting him for three fours in the fourth over.

Given how the middle and lower order crumbled, Ireland had Stirling to thank for the precious runs up top that helped them post a total that at least gave them a chance.

Adair's (incomplete) over proves costly

In hindsight, a lot happened in the 7th over that perhaps changed the dynamic of the match in favour of Namibia.

Mark Adair returned to the attack after the Powerplay and off the third ball trapped skipper Gerhard Erasmus, only to see the appeal turned down.

Ireland decided against reviewing the decision and, as the replays showed later, there was no bat involved and the tracker showed three reds. Erasmus eventually went on to score an unbeaten half-century that guided Namibia to a win.

The very next ball, Mark Adair had to pull out from his delivery stride after suffering a side strain that cut his involvement in the match down to just 10 balls. Though Kevin O'Brien bowled rather economically, Ireland certainly missed a wicket-taking option in the middle overs and the death.

SRI LANKA V NETHERLANDS

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Sri Lanka’s thrilling attack

The bowling attack at Sri Lanka’s disposal means they will be a real threat to all of their Super 12 opponents.

Hasaranga and Theekshana’s brilliance is not in doubt, but the presence of searing speed from Kumara and Chameera means that Sri Lanka can blow teams away with extreme high pace from one end while the spinners weave their magic at the other.

It’s the classic make-up of a T20 bowling attack, and Dasun Shanaka has it at his disposal. England, West Indies, Australia, South Africa and Bangladesh await in the next phase of the tournament, and all will be wary of the Sri Lankan threat with the ball.

Batters struggle again

The brilliance of Max O’Dowd at the top of the order had held the Netherlands together with the bat in their opening two games.

His half-century against Ireland wasn’t enough to take the side to a win but did at least prevent the Irish from skittling them out, with five ducks elsewhere on the scorecard.

And he was at it once more against Namibia, with an unbeaten 70 that should have been enough to steer his side to a win.

But it was too much of an ask to expect O’Dowd to step up once again. And when he was run out early in the piece his teammates were unable to step up, with only Colin Ackermann reaching double figures.

It was always going to be a challenge to make it to the Super 12 for the Netherlands, but it was never going to happen with such limited assistance for O’Dowd.

Helpful conditions

Sri Lanka already knew they had qualified for the Super 12 stage as group winners, so could have been forgiven for going into this match at half-pace.

But it was also an opportunity for Shanaka’s side to get to grips with the conditions in Sharjah, and they approached that task with impressive aggression.

Sri Lanka are the only team set to play three Super 12 matches at Sharjah, with fixtures against England, Bangladesh and South Africa scheduled to be held at the ground.

The conditions seem to lend themselves very well to Sri Lanka’s bowling attack, and they will be encouraged by the nature of their destruction of the Dutch batting order.