Namibia vs Netherlands T20I: Bet on the experience of the Netherlands

In this Group A fixture, Namibia tussles against the Netherlands. Both teams come off a disappointing loss and thus this becomes a must-win game. Netherlands and Namibia will look to bounce back after batting collapses after making only around 100 runs in their opening games.

Namibia comes into this contest after an embarrassing loss to Sri Lanka as the batters had no confidence against the seamers, only managing 96 runs. Craig Williams’ 29 runs off 36 balls and Gerhard Erasmus’ 20 runs off 19 deliveries remained the only innings that went past 20. The Sri Lankan pace quartet of Theekshana, Kumara, Chameera, and Karunaratne took seven wickets and gave Namibia no chance in the game. Meanwhile, Lankan spinner Hasarange cleaned up two wickets.

In terms of bowling, Namibia actually had Sri Lanka three for 26 at one stage but the lack of runs hurt them in the end. Spinner Bernard Scholtz was the standout performer, giving just 16 runs in three overs along with a wicket. Wiese gave just eleven runs in two overs and Smit took a wicket in his sole over. The bowling wasn’t terrible by any standards but defending 97 is not usually possible against a full-member team in Sri Lanka. Namibia has work cut out when it comes to batting.

The Netherlands had a highly disappointing game versus Ireland, bundling out for 106. Cooper, ten Deoschote, Edwards, and van der Merwe fell for zero; the latter of the three became part of the Curtis Campher hattrick. Only Max O’Dowd showed some control and made 51 runs off 47 balls, while the only other decent contribution came from Pieter Seelaar, who made 21 runs. This has to be a forgettable batting outing for the Dutchmen. The team needs to showcase more footwork this time around as multiple batters got dismissed due to being flat-footed.

In terms of bowling, Fred Klaasen got the ball talking and kept it tight, giving just 18 runs in three overs while taking a wicket. Logan van Beek also kept the pressure and gave 14 runs in three overs whereas Brandon Glover eked out a wicket, giving 21 runs in three overs. Pieter Seelaar also took a wicket, going at 6.46, and like Namibia, the Dutch bowling effort was much better than the batting. Similar to Namibia, the Netherlands will look to put more work in the batting department and avoid collapses.

The average score in the four World Cup innings so far at Zayed Stadium is 102.5. However, that is a misleading figure since it involves two sub-100 run collapses. Sri Lanka and Ireland batted at a run rate between 7-7.5, implying that a defending total here may be between 140-160. Pace bowlers from all four teams showed their mettle in the last two games and took 20 out of the 26 wickets that fell on the day, however, it doesn’t mean that spinners are no less effective as implied by the exploits of Hasaranga, Smit, Scholtz, Seelaar, and Glover.

Netherlands has a two-one edge in T20Is over Namibia and won the last match between them by 44 runs during the 2019 WC Qualifiers. Netherlands will look to replicate the wins of the last two meetings and Namibia has their work cut out.

The Netherlands are the favorites to win as they not only have experience but look like a more well-oiled squad. The historicity coupled with a more well-rounded bowling and batting provides the Dutch men more favorability. However, it will not be a surprise if Namibia can muster up something special as they have some talented batters like Craig Williams and a decent bowling attack. How will the two battered teams respond to each other?

• Netherlands to win for 1.48;
• Max O’Dowd Total Runs -20 Overs (19.5) for Over 1.83;
• Best Bowler on Team Netherlands - Fred Klassen for 4.32.