T20 World Cup 2021: Match 21, Scotland vs Namibia – Who Said What

After scripting a hat-trick of wins to qualify for the main draw, Scotland continued to disappoint in the Super12s as they slipped to their second defeat in a row, losing against fellow associates Namibia by four wickets in a low-scoring game in Abu Dhabi. It certainly was not a day for the batters, with 14 wickets falling in the game for 224 runs in 39.1 overs but more than Namibia, it was Scotland who were found wanting on the night.

They were pegged back entirely on the back foot as early as the opening over of the game by the left-arm pace of Ruben Trumplemann, who struck thrice – George Munsey chopped him onto his stump on the first ball of the game, Calum MacLeod edged one behind, while skipper Richie Berrington was trapped on the front. Dented so heavily, Scotland, who scored just 22 in the powerplay, had only Michael Leask and Chris Greaves to thank who ensured they did not settle for a sub-100 total.

Leask struck four boundaries and the only two sixes – only Scotland hit in their innings – in his 27-ball 44 before being cleaned up by JJ Smit, while Greaves played a sedate knock of 25 off 32 before being run-out. These aside, Mathew Cross was the only one who managed to muster a double-digit score, with his 19 off 33. Trumpelmann finished 3/17, well-complimented by Jan Frylinck, who just gave 10 runs in his quote while picking two wickets.

While defending 109 was always a tall ask, Scotland bowlers did well to take the game until the last over, as Namibia secured the win with only five balls to spare. Like Scotland, Namibia struggled to come to terms with what was a rather sluggish track, however, chasing less than run-a-ball meant they had the luxury to take the time in the middle. That’s what opener Michale van Lingen did in his 24-ball 18 before Safyaan Sharif removed him.

All of Namibia’s top-four batters struck below 100, and Scotland did manage to raise the beats in the opponent camp at the halfway mark when Greaves had Zane Green caught for 9 off 13, while Craig Williams (23 off 29) and Gerhard Erasmus (4 off 6) fell in successive overs of Mark Watt and Leask, respectively. Thanks to Smit (32 off 23) and Wiese (16 off 14), who joined hands to bail them out as Namibia opened their account with two points.

Losing skipper Richard Berrington:

Disappointing day for us. 20-30 runs (short). Hard to recover after that sort of a first over. We just needed to get a partnership. I thought Leask and Cross played well. 120 would have given us a better chance. It was important we put the AFG game behind us. We were confident today, but we didn’t execute. We have few days to reflect and recover. Sticking together is the strength of our team.

Winning skipper Gerhard Erasmus:

Delighted to get another World Cup win, another proud moment for the team. From here on we have to lift our level. We are excited for the challenge. Hopefully we can execute on those days. We all know we back each other. It was always about showing good intent. Luckily we got few partnerships to get over the line. Ruben (Trumpelmann) sets high standards. By his own admission he hasn’t hit the straps but very delighted that he came out here and executed. That allowed us to start well and throw the first punch. Quite big (celebrating the victory), pretty proud moment. We savour this with the small Namibian group out here and all the people back home. Small but very proud country. We owe it to them back home.

Player of the Match Ruben Trumpelmann:

It felt great to win and hope to get a few more. I’m focused on the training, and happy to see that things went my way. I was nervous out there, but I thought, it’s the World Cup, so why not enjoy it. I use swing as a weapon up front, so luckily it went my way today. We hope to win a few more, but this is massive for us.