Namibia, USA share spoils in League 2 series
Both Namibia and USA on Saturday came away with three wins apiece from their latest Cricket World Cup League 2 triseries held in Windhoek, whilst Papua New Guinea (PNG) went winless.
It was far from a polished performance from the hosts Namibia, but the country’s Richelieu Eagles still succeeded in bringing home three wins from their campaign.
Although missing David Wiese to the T10 League, Namibia persisted with the squad from their T20 World Cup campaign. They blew PNG away in their opening game, dismissing the visitors for 107 and chasing the total in 15.1 overs. Despite a comprehensive win first-up, their next two fixture were anything but perfect.
Namibia were comfortably beaten in the second match, although the USA’s total of 244/8 look approachable, frequent wickets saw Namibia fall 71 short, with no batter passing 30. It nearly got worse in their repeat fixture against PNG.
The PNG had raised 216/3 in 44 overs before Tangeni Lungameni took six wickets to keep the total to 236. But in the chase, Namibia’s top order failed, slumping to 109/6. It took Gerhard Erasmus to bail them out with 71, along with an aggressive 55 from Ruben Trumplemann.
The hosts were more assured in their final game, keeping the USA to 211/7 thanks to Bernard Scholtz’ miserly spell. Runs were shared across the top 5, and Namibia completed the chase with six wickets to spare. After a dismal run in Papua New Guinea, with only 1 point from four games, USA completed their campaign on a much higher note. An overhauled USA squad took three wins, falling only to Namibia in the final game.
The Americans were clinical in their two wins over PNG, bowling out the Barramundis both times. The bowling unit was particularly strong throughout the series, with Jessy Singh and Ian Holland starring with eight wickets each.
Most pleasing for the USA will be their defeat of Namibia. With a score of 244 on the board, frequent wickets and economical bowling kept Namibia at bay, leading to a 71-run win. Although the feat could not be repeated in the final game, the three wins represents a positive return for the Americans.
USA end their League 2 campaign with 35 points from 36 matches. Whilst still 3rd on the table for the time being, games in hand for all the teams behind them means the USA’s hopes of direct progression to the World Cup qualifier are vanishing. American eyes will turn to Nepal’s campaign, as the USA will retain ODI status if the finish ahead of the Nepalis.
More pain for PNG
Papua New Guinea’s travails in the ODI format continued with another four defeats, entrenching their position at the bottom of the table.
Once again, batting proved PNG’s Achilles Heel, with only Assad Vala offering any stability with the bat. In fact, the PNG skipper was top scorer in each of their four innings, and scored 226 in the series, nearly a third of his team’s runs.
PNG were bowled out for 107, 149, 236 and 231 in their games, batting first in the first three. PNG will be disappointed not to have won their 3rd game, against Namibia, having reduced the hosts to 109/6, but were unable to close out the game.
With only two wins from 28 games, PNG’s position at the bottom of the table is all-butconfirmed. Their remaining two series are both against UAE and Nepal, in Nepal and PNG, both scheduled for December.
Results Summary:
1st ODI – Namibia beat PNG by eight wickets (209 balls remaining)
2nd ODI – USA beat Namibia by 71 runs
3rd ODI – USA beat PNG by six wickets (117 balls remaining) 4th ODI – Namibia beat PNG by three wickets (12 balls remaining) 5th ODI – USA beat PNG by 35 runs
6th ODI – Namibia beat USA by six wickets (32 balls remaining)*