Netherlands tour of Namibia begins

Netherlands' two week tour of Namibia began overnight with Day 1 of the Intercontinental Cup Match. Netherlands are currently languishing in 7th place, while Namibia are in 4th. It was a close tussle on the first day, with the visitors perhaps just coming out on top. Namibia made 264/7 with Raymond van Schoor scoring a hundred. Him and captain and Sarel Burger rescued the African side after being perilously placed at 53/4 at one stage. The two put on 163 for the fifth wicket with van Schoor making 110 and Burger 71. No-one else for the home side managed to do anything of note, with the Dutch bowlers impressing. In particular Timm van der Gugten picked up his first five wicket haul in first class cricket. Van der Gugten actually plays for New South Wales in Australian state cricket. Therefore along with opener Tom Cooper, the Netherlands side continues to have a strong Australian influence, after Dirk Nannes pulled on the orange jersey a couple of years ago in the World T20.

The most important part of the tour is undoubtedly the two World Cup qualifying matches. The two teams' current rankings are reversed from the four day competition - with the Netherlands in fourth, and Namibia in 7th. Namibia really need a 2-0 series win to keep alive any hope of securing one of the two automatic qualifying spots available. Netherlands meanwhile would love to win both games, which would springboard them up to 2nd, with a three point buffer on the chasing pack of Scotland and Afghanistan. With only 2 rounds remaining, this could prove crucial.

There has been a change made to the T20 portion of the tour which has only been averted to my attention. Instead of a two match T20 series between the two teams, a four team T20 quadrangular has been organised. Namibia (the hosts) will clash with the touring Netherlands, fellow African side Kenya, as well as a South Africa Emerging XI. I think this is a extremely positive idea, especially with a South Africa XI, which will allow the associate sides to face some talented youngsters from the full member country. With the all important World Twenty20 Qualifier coming up later this year in the UAE, and with six teams to qualify, the more match practice for the teams, the better.

Full Tour Fixtures:
11th April - 14th April: Namibia VS Netherlands
ICC Intercontinental Cup Match (First Class)

16th April: Namibia VS Netherlands
WCL Championship Match (List A)

18th April: Namibia VS Netherlands
WCL Championship Match (List A)

20th April: Kenya VS Netherlands
T20 International

20th April: Namibia VS South Africa Emerging Players
T20

21st April: Kenya VS South Africa Emerging Players
T20

21st April: Namibia VS Netherlands
T20

23rd April: Netherlands VS South Africa Emerging Players
T20

23rd April: Namibia VS Kenya
T20

23rd April:Third place playoff
T20I/T20

23rd April: Final
T20I/T20

*All matches played at Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek