WINDHOEK — Namibia defeated Canada by 10 wickets Saturday in a lopsided T20 cricket game shortened due to poor weather.
Canada won the toss and elected to bat at the Namibia Cricket Ground, managing just 42 runs at the expense of seven wickets in the 13 overs it was able to get in.
Namibia only needed 16 balls to reach the victory target of 42 under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stein system — a formula used to fairly calculate the winning side when inclement weather intervenes and the match is interrupted — with JJ. Kotze leading the way with 32 runs off 14 balls.
Namibia scored 16 runs in the first over, with Kotze accounting for all of them, and added 19 more in the second over. Seven runs off four balls in the third over sealed the win.
Kotze hit four fours and two sixes in his 14-ball knock.
Namibia leads the five-match T20 series 2-0 with two other games abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain. The teams look to finish the series Sunday.
Namibia won by three wickets Wednesday when the teams played a weather-shortened game.
Openers Aaron Johnson and Ajayveer Singh both failed to score Saturday with No. 3 batsman Yuvraj Samra managing just three runs, leaving Canada at five runs for three wickets after three overs. Harsh Thaker and captain Nicholas Kirton led Canada with 13 and 10 runs, respectively.
Canada was 18 for six after 6.2 overs before steadying the ship somewhat. J.J. Smit took four wickets for Namibia.
Winning the toss, Namibia elected to field with Canada, led by 18-year-old Yuvraj Samra's 37-run knock, finishing at 145 for eight in its 15 overs.
Zane Green scored two runs off Canadian bowler Kaleem Sana with the final ball in Namibia's innings to give the home side the win at 146 for seven. Namibia scored 11 runs in its final over with Green accounting for nine of them.
Namibia is ranked 15th in the world in T20 play by the International Cricket Council (ICC) while Canada is No. 21.
Weather was also a factor in the recent ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series hosted by Namibia. Canada's two games against the 14th-ranked Netherlands on March 5 and 11 were both called off due to inclement weather.
Canada sits third in the eight-team World League table at 9-5 with two no-results.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2025
The Canadian Press
