Namibia capped off a brilliant campaign in the 2018 Africa T20 Cup after notching a high-drama super over in their final group match against African counterparts Kenya. What was disappointing for them is that they missed out on advancing to the semi-final stage of the tournament on lower net run-rate after finishing on equal points with both Border and Eastern Province.
Kenya finished their campaign thus with one win in their 4 group matches but after governance and logistics issues faced prior to even travelling to South Africa for the tournament, the team will be happy with some of the performances from the senior players before more crucial tournaments like WCL Division 3 in Oman in Nov 2018.
Joining them in Division 3 will be their African counterparts Uganda, who finished third in their group after notching their 2nd win in the tournament over Western Province. After a sluggish start to the tournament, Uganda improved by leaps and bounds and will continue with that momentum heading into Oman in Nov 2018. Uganda also won their 50-overs practice game against an Academy side from Kwazulu-Natal the day after concluding their commitments in Africa T20 Cup.
For Nigeria, it was getting exposure in an International tournament and the players will benefit in the longer term when they head into the African region finals for ICC World T20 qualification in 2019. Some of the players performed consistently during Africa T20 group matches and will look forward to continuing in the same fashion after governance and transitional issues marred their progress in 2017 and early parts of 2018.
All in all, a good display by the African Associate nations have shown that the move by Cricket South Africa for expanding the Africa T20 Cup participants have resulted in a positive outcome and can sustain in the future editions as well. And depending on how the Associate members keep performing and improving each year, the number of participants can still increase as Africa T20 Cup strives to become the “Brand” for growth of cricket in the region.
The live streaming of Associate member matches by Pitchvision was yet another milestone step in showcasing their talent and skills on a global level and such broadcast ventures will bode well to spread the interest among local communities in the member nation countries.
Brief Scores:
Western Province 152/6 in 20 overs (Qaasim Adams 65, George Linde 52 n.o, Frank Nsubuga 2/22, Roger Mukasa 2/26, Henry Ssenyondo 1/23) lost to Uganda 154/4 in 15.3 overs (Dinesh Nakrani 46, Riazat Ali Shah 36 n.o, Henry Kayondo 27, Kenneth Waiswa 17 n.o, Kyle Williamson 2/27, Michael Cohen 1/29) by 6 wickets
Kenya 183/8 in 20 overs (Dhiren Gondaria 78, Alex Obanda 49, Irfan Karim 25 n.o, Bernard Scholtz 4/28, Christopher Coombe 2/22) tied with Namibia 183/7 in 20 overs (Michau du Preez 72, Jan Frylinck 37, Lohan Louwrens 20, Zane Green 16 n.o, Nehemiah Odhiambo 3/33, Nelson Odhiambo 1/31, Elijah Otieno 1/31)
Namibia (15/1) beat Kenya (6/1) to win the match in Super Over by 9 runs – Match highlights
Nigeria 112/7 in 20 overs (Ademola Onikoyi 20, Isaac Okpe 20 n.o, Isaac Danladi 15, Ovais Yousof 15, Ruan Sadler 3/26, Don Radebe 2/18, Thomas Hobson 1/13) lost to Limpopo 116/4 in 15 overs (Lerato Kgoatle 63 n.o, Lefa Thaba 17, Isaac Danladi 3/16, Sesan Adedeji 1/23) by 6 wickets
