Wiese and Erasmus show form against PNG
Cricket
Their first unofficial warm-up match in St. Kitts has been a good and valuable exercise for the Richelieu Eagles in their acclimatisation and build-up to the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies, Namibia head coach Pierre de Bruyn said.
The Eagles beat Papua New Guinea by 19 runs at the 8 000-seat Warner Park stadium in St. Kitts on Tuesday night.
Batting first after winning the toss, Namibia amassed a solid total of 187/7, before restricting the attack-minded PNG to 168/5.
Openers Michael van Lingen (16 off 12 balls, three fours) and Niko Davin (29 off 15 balls, four fours, one six) got the match off to a fast start. Number three Jan Frylinck added 17 off 22 balls (1x4) before getting caught.
Good acceleration was provided by in-form Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus (51 off 28 balls, 3x4 4x6), JJ Smit (25 off 15 balls, 1x4 2x6), David Wiese (22 off 17 balls, 1x4 2x6) and Zane Green (9 not out off 8 balls, 1x4), while number eight JP Kotzé faced three balls and scored four runs before being caught behind.
The Namibian bowling unit conceded 17 wides and one no-ball, as some of PNG’s batting veterans got stuck into their task.
Tony Ura (34 years) hit four sixes and two fours on his way to 53 off 34 balls, before left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz (1/27 in 4) brought about his end with a leg-before decision.
PNG’s captain Assad Vala (36 years) scored no boundaries in his 14 off 15 balls, before being bowled by the spin of his counterpart Erasmus, who finished with 1/21 in 4 overs.
Thirty-one-year-old Lega Siaka scored 42 off 28 balls (2x4 3x6), while 32-year-old Charles Amini was not out on 20 off 18 balls.
“Our four matches in St. Kitts serve the primary purpose of allowing us to test some combinations in both our bowling and batting department,” De Bruyn told us.
“Gerhard Erasmus and David Wiese were both outstanding in their batting and bowling.
“The result is not the only important thing here, as we strive to determine our best combinations ahead of our World Cup opening match against Oman on 2 June.”
The Namibians have arranged three more unofficial warm-up matches, against Afghanistan (Wednesday), PNG (Thursday) and Afghanistan again (Friday).
Their official warm-up matches are next week against Uganda, Australia and PNG.
The Eagles beat Papua New Guinea by 19 runs at the 8 000-seat Warner Park stadium in St. Kitts on Tuesday night.
Batting first after winning the toss, Namibia amassed a solid total of 187/7, before restricting the attack-minded PNG to 168/5.
Openers Michael van Lingen (16 off 12 balls, three fours) and Niko Davin (29 off 15 balls, four fours, one six) got the match off to a fast start. Number three Jan Frylinck added 17 off 22 balls (1x4) before getting caught.
Good acceleration was provided by in-form Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus (51 off 28 balls, 3x4 4x6), JJ Smit (25 off 15 balls, 1x4 2x6), David Wiese (22 off 17 balls, 1x4 2x6) and Zane Green (9 not out off 8 balls, 1x4), while number eight JP Kotzé faced three balls and scored four runs before being caught behind.
The Namibian bowling unit conceded 17 wides and one no-ball, as some of PNG’s batting veterans got stuck into their task.
Tony Ura (34 years) hit four sixes and two fours on his way to 53 off 34 balls, before left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz (1/27 in 4) brought about his end with a leg-before decision.
PNG’s captain Assad Vala (36 years) scored no boundaries in his 14 off 15 balls, before being bowled by the spin of his counterpart Erasmus, who finished with 1/21 in 4 overs.
Thirty-one-year-old Lega Siaka scored 42 off 28 balls (2x4 3x6), while 32-year-old Charles Amini was not out on 20 off 18 balls.
“Our four matches in St. Kitts serve the primary purpose of allowing us to test some combinations in both our bowling and batting department,” De Bruyn told us.
“Gerhard Erasmus and David Wiese were both outstanding in their batting and bowling.
“The result is not the only important thing here, as we strive to determine our best combinations ahead of our World Cup opening match against Oman on 2 June.”
The Namibians have arranged three more unofficial warm-up matches, against Afghanistan (Wednesday), PNG (Thursday) and Afghanistan again (Friday).
Their official warm-up matches are next week against Uganda, Australia and PNG.
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