Namibia Cricket Team 15-Man Squad Announced For T20 World Cup 2022

This time last year, Namibia put together its most successful T20 World Cup campaign in history.

Not only did the side move through the group qualifying phase and advance to the Super 12 stage of the tournament, but Namibia strung together three wins in a row for the first time at this level. Defeating the Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland by chasing down totals, Namibia will be looking to go one step further this year and claim a big scalp at the 2022 T20 World Cup.

To do so, they’ll first need to navigate the group stage again, where they have been drawn alongside Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands. Namibia has announced an experienced 16-man squad to assist them in their campaign, with plenty of old hands from last year’s World Cup retained, and being joined by young talent such as Lohan Louwrens, Tangeni Lungameni and Divan la Cock.

Here is our breakdown of the 16-man Namibia T20 World Cup 2022 squad, with each selection analysed on a position by position basis.

16-man squad for Namibia at the 2022 T20 World Cup in October

Stephan Baard, Lohandre Louwrens, Gerhard Erasmus (captain), David Wiese, Jan Frylinck, Pikky Ya France, Divan la Cock, JJ Smit, Karl Birkenstock, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Zane Green, Ruben Trumpelmann, Tangeni Lungameni, Ben Shikongo, Bernard Scholtz and Michael van Lingen.

Batsmen – Mix of Youth and Experience at the Top

Courtesy of their all-round depth, Namibia has only needed two specialist batsmen in the 16-man squad.

The specialist batsmen that have been named by Namibia for the T20 World Cup in October are:

While both of these batsmen are fairly new to international cricket, Stephan Baard has quickly become an old hand in this Namibian side. The 30-year-old has accrued 596 runs over his 22 T20I appearances since 2019, with a high score of 92. Present in the side that performed strongly in the last World Cup, Baard will be a key anchor for Namibia at the top of the innings, with a strike rate of 112.38 and an average of 28.38.

Joining Baard in the batting line up is new face Lohandre Louwrens. The 23-year-old right hander did not make the trip to the 2021 T20 World Cup, despite having debuted in 2019 for Namibia against Botswana. Across six ODIs Louwrens has managed one high score of 47, while his only previous T20 appearance saw a contribution of 17 off 15 for the batter. The inclusion of Louwrens is a positive move by Namibia, as the youngster was once his country’s leading run scorer at the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, and despite not kicking on immediately since then, still possesses plenty of talent.

Overall stats for Namibia Players in T20Is - Batsmen

All Rounders – Great Depth Gives Options With Bat and Ball

As with many other minnow nations, Namibia has opted to fill the majority of their 16-man squad with multi-talent players, taking three batting all-rounders and four bowling all-rounders.

Here are the seven all-round options Namibia has selected for the 2022 T20 World Cup:

Gerhard Erasmus and David Wiese are the two experienced all-rounders for Namibia. The two have played 35 and 36 times for their country in T20Is, despite a ten year age difference. As the younger, Erasmus will captain the side as he looks to pass 1000 T20I runs this tournament, having struck 916 at a strike rate of 132.37 and average of 35.23 so far. His contributions with the ball are modest, taking 18 wickets at an economy of 5.55.

Wiese will be an excellent right-hand man to Erasmus, with the 35-year-old bringing international experience from the IPL. More of a bowler, Wiese has 38 international wickets from his 36 caps, with top figures of 5/23 at an economy of 7.53. He’s no slouch with the bat however, with a high score of 66 and plenty of six hitting ability.

Polar opposite to Erasmus and Wiese are Namibia’s selections of Divan la Cock and Karl Birkenstock. Both men have less than ten T20I caps between them, and will gain great experience from their inclusion in this World Cup squad. La Cock is yet to leave his teen, but already has one impressive showing on the international scene, scoring a tidy 66 runs in one innings this year. Kirkenstock, on the other hand, has yet to find his feet with either bat or ball in T20Is.

Rounding out the all-rounder options for Namibia are JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck and Pikky Ya France. Frylinck is a prolific wicket taker, with a career-best of 6/24, striking 47 times in his first 32 T20Is. JJ Smit has also claimed six wickets in a T20I before, with hit best being 6/10. Smit is also an excellent batter, racking up 500+ runs since his debut in 2019. 32-year-old Pikky Ya France, on the other hand, is unlikely to see much game time, having played 18 T20Is for 32 runs and five wickets.

Overall stats for Namibia Players in T20Is - All-Rounders

Wicketkeepers – Neck-and-Neck for Starting Spot

With two good options behind the stumps, Namibia has the luxury of chopping and changing their wicketkeeper based on from.

The two players providing wicketkeeping options for Namibia this T20 World Cup are:

Rarely does a T20I side have two wicketkeepers who are both young and evenly matched. However, Namibia has this in the form of 25-year-old Zane Green and 21-year-old Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton. Both are solid keepers, with Green having started 29 matches since 2019 and scored 240 runs, compared to Loftie-Eaton’s 168 runs from 19 matches since 2021.

Either they will be interchanged based on form, or there’s a good chance that both of these men will find themselves in the playing 11.

Overall stats for Namibia Players in T20Is - Wicket Keepers

Bowlers – Side Heavily Weighted in Favour of Bowling

In addition to their seven all-rounders, Namibia has developed a bowling heavy squad by including a further five specialist bowlers.

The specialist bowling options in Namibia’s 16-man squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup are as follows:

While Namibia brings plenty of bowling options to the 2022 T20 World Cup with them, their pace attack is rather lacking in experience. The four specialist pace bowlers selected have only 59 T20I caps between them, with the most experienced Namibian bowler being veteran spinner Bernard Scholtz.

However, 30-year-old Tangeni Lungameni brings a cool head to the pace attack, while Ruben Trumpelmann and Ben Shikongo both offer very strong economy rates. At 6.04 runs per over, Shikongo’s 14 wickets have generally come by starving opposition batsmen of runs. Trumpelmann has had similar success with his 12 wickets at 6.72. Only left-armer Michael van Lingen is relatively uncertain, with an economy of 10.5 from his limited bowling so far.

Bernard Scholtz will be eager to see his side through to a big win at this World Cup, with the 31-year-old offering some left-arm orthodox spin. His 34 wickets from 32 matches have come at a miserly 6.0 economy, and will be critical for restricting opposition in the middle overs.

Overall stats for Namibia Players in T20Is - Bowlers

Check T20 World Cup 2022 Squads For Other Teams