Image © nbc.na
By Musali Denis
If you have played sport, you would know that being lucky is better than being good. Namibia will make their maiden appearance at the Women’s global qualifier in forturous manner after Zimbabwe was eliminated due to the ICC sanctions placed on them in July.
Namibia were chosen due to the fact that they finished second in the qualifiers held in May in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe by far the best side in the tournament winning the tournament unbeaten but their politics denying their ladies a shot at the world cup.
Namibia though outsiders at the qualifiers surprised favorites Kenya and Uganda by defeating them to clinch top spot in Group B earning themselves a place in the final. The only bad cricket they played the whole was in the final where they misplaced their throws, failed to hold onto catches and by the time the nerves settled down Zimbabwe had seized the initiative.
However, the girls from the Namib desert showed very clear signs of improvement in their game. Team Captain Yasmeen Khan led with the bat while Irene Van Zyl made the important inroads.
This is the second time Zimbabwe is missing out on the global qualifier after they were pipped by Uganda in 2017 who were also making a maiden appearance. Now Namibia will carry the Africa flag as they try to qualify for the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia.
They will be battling eight other nations for two slots to qualify for the World Cup. Bangladesh clear favorites in the pick up one of the slots.
There is added incentive for the ladies as the ICC announced that 10 games at the qualifiers will be live streamed. Since the interest generated by 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup in England the ICC has made it an effort to promote the ladies game. The live stream should help generate more interest in the ladies’ game especially in emerging nations such as Thailand.
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier matches to be live-streamed:
31 August: Bangladesh v PNG (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 10h00) 31 August: Scotland v USA (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 14h00) 1 September: Thailand v Namibia (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 10h00) 1 September: Ireland v Netherlands (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 14h00) 3 September: Ireland v Thailand (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 10h00) 3 September: Scotland v Bangladesh (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 14h00) 5 September: A1 v B2 (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 10h00) 5 September: B1 v A2 (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 14h00) 7 September: 3rd v 4th Place Play-Off (Forfarshire Cricket Club, 10h00) 7 September: Final (A Forfarshire Cricket Club, 14h00)
