Eagles to use Botswana T20 series to prepare for World Cup qualifier in UAE
Cricket Namibia will host a 4-match T20 Internationals series against Botswana Cricket Association in Windhoek from 19 to 23 August at the Trustco United Sports ground.
After the series the national men’s team is set to compete in the T20 Qualifier in UAE in October alongside 13 other nations, where they will compete for one of six places at the T20 World Cup 2020.
Cricket Namibia this week said that the Botswana series will be the first-ever T20 Internationals played on homeground.
The Eagles are pleased to welcome Botswana after their last encounter in Uganda whereby Namibia beat Botswana by 10 wickets with 97 balls left, Cricket Namibia added.
The Head Coach of the National Men’s team, Pierre De Bruyn is excited to play their first T20 Internationals on home soil against Botswana.
“From a team’s perspective, it gives us an opportunity to get our combinations right with our T20 Global competition in October, to get players in certain roles, and most importantly its four T20 games so its preparations and match time for the guys who haven’t played a lot of cricket since May in Uganda. This is a great opportunity for the guys to get match time and to keep on measuring ourselves against other teams,” he added.
According to Cricket Namibia, all four matches will be official T20 games with ranking points on offer for T20I team rankings.
Meanwhile, the two teams will also play two friendly 50 Over games on Sunday, 18 August and on Saturday, 24 August at 09:30 a.m.