All eyes are on Namibia as they aim to beat the UAE and secure pole position in Group A

With the bank’s net run rate very good, Namibia will be aiming to recover from the defeat against the Netherlands and be top of the group against the UAE in their final Group A game.

With a big win over Sri Lanka in the tournament’s first match despite a loss to the Netherlands, Namibia could lead the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Group A and qualify for the Super 12.

However, they have a dynamic Emirates team to overcome when the two teams meet in Geelong on Thursday. The two teams have met only once before at the T20Is – in Dubai last year – with Namibia winning by 17 points.

Jan Flelink, who starred in Namibia’s win over Sri Lanka, shot six in that match to lead Namibia to victory after a strong start from the UAE in the chase. Frylinck may still be one of Namibia’s aces this time around, but the focus is also on fellow fast bowling all-rounders JJ Smit and David Wiese, both of whom have been deprived of time against the Netherlands, a strategy that could cost them game.

The UAE will be looking to tackle Namibia’s mid-level slugger with the duo of Aayan Khan and hat-trick hero Karthik Meiyappan. With Geelong’s surface slightly two-stepped, UAE will be bullish on their chances against Namibia, who tend to carry batsmen on their backs to maximise death, a risky move in any T20 match.

In their win against Sri Lanka, Namibia won 95/6 in the round of 15 before the duo of Frylinck and Smit turned things around. In their next game against Holland, they were slow to go 87/4 in the round of 16 before some late batting gave them 121, despite their considerable effort in possession. The total is still not enough.

Namibia could start by pushing skipper Gerhard Erasmus to get the order back. They also have a long batting lineup, which gives them the freedom to use hammers and pliers right from the start.

Having said that, Namibia could benefit from having Ruben Trumpelmann back to bolster the pace attack by having a batsman come off the bench. Not only will this give late batters more time to deal with the bat, but it will also significantly increase the Powerplay threat they may pose against the UAE with the ball.

David Meadow

Weiss has not had much on the bat so far, but he played well with the ball in Namibia’s win over Sri Lanka, finishing at 2/16 in his four rounds. One of several multi-purpose cricketers in Namibia, Wiese is a humble, seasoned performer with an excellent record.

Namibia kept him out for too long against the Netherlands, but hopefully they release him earlier against the UAE if needed. Wiese was also an under-the-radar hero for them, controlling Powerplay’s scoring rate and securing the crucial wicket.

Wiese suffered an injury scare in the last game but has been confirmed by the captain to be fit for this competition.

Namibia: Michael van Lingen, Divan la Cock, Stephen Baard, Gerhard erasmus (c), Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Jan Frylinck, David Wiese, JJ Smit, Zane Green, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo

United Arab Emirates: Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, Aryan Lakra, Chundangapoyil Rizwan (c), Basil Hameed, Vriitya Aravind, Afzal Aayan Khan, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Zahoor Khan

Captain’s Choice:

JJ Smith

The Namibian left-arm quick and late all-rounder is a great addition to any fantasy team. With an economy of less than seven runs per round and a bowling percentage of 16.2, Smit’s ball-handling ability is not to be underestimated. In addition to that, he also punched with a bat, hitting 148.02 in his T20I career. Of course, Namibia has no intention of stopping him with a bat in this crucial clash.

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Karthik Meapan

Meiyappan may have risen to fame for his hat-trick against Sri Lanka, but the leg-spinner with a bag of tricks had an awesome start to his T20I career, even if he was otherwise in 13 T20Is Caught 21 wickets with an average of 14.33 and an economy of 6.84. His challenge will be against three southpaws in Namibia’s top seven.

Differential:

Gerhard Erasmus

The skipper is 37 runs short of becoming the first Namibian batsman to complete 1,000 T20I runs. A hot topic of discussion after the loss to the Netherlands was how Namibia could hold off their best batsman. We’re unlikely to see a repeat of this, which means Erasmus could move up to No. 4 to anchor the innings, making him a viable fantasy option.