ICC World Cup Qualifier: Smit steers Namibia to win over Kenya

Wellington, Jan 17 (IANS) An all-round effort from 18-year-old JJ Smit saw Namibia record a nail-biting two wicket victory over Kenya on day four of the 2015 Cricket World Cup Qualifier in windy conditions at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, on Friday.

After restricting Kenya to 186 for eight, Namibia chased down the total with seven balls to spare, with tail-ender Smit scoring an unbeaten 33 from 25 balls after claiming three wickets to ensure victory in the penultimate over.

Captain Sarel Burger top scored with a patient 45, anchoring the Namibia innings as the side tried to overhaul Kenya’s moderate total. Nicolaas Scholtz added 30, but it was man of the match Smit who finally guided the team to victory.

For Kenya, Lameck Onyango, Hiren Varaiya and Steve Tikolo took two wickets apiece.

Earlier, Smit took three wickets to help restrict Kenya to a modest total of 186 for eight.

Player-coach Steve Tikolo (47) and captain Rakep Patel (44) were the main contributors with the bat, after Kenya lost three early wickets to be struggling at 11 for three. Varaiya (32) added late runs to lift the final run rate as Kenya reached 186 for eight.

Scores in brief:

At Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga, North Island

Kenya 186 for eight, 50 overs (Steve Tikolo 47, Rakep Patel 44, Hiren Varaiya 33, Maurice Ouma 32; JJ Smit 3-23, Christi Viljoen 2-34, Louis Klazinga 2-50)

Namibia 187 for eight, 48.5 overs (Sarel Burger 45, JJ Smit 33 not out, Nicolaas Scholtz 30; Lameck Onyango 2-29, Hiren Varaiya 2-33, Steve Tikolo 2-39)

Result: Namibia won by two wickets

At Rangiora Oval, Christchurch, South Island

Canada 171 all out, 48 overs (Trevin Bastiampillai 29, Nitish Kumar 28, Raza-ur-Rehman 28; Haseeb Amjad 3-42, Waqas Barkat 2-12, Aizaz Khan 2-37)

Hong Kong 173 for one, 25.2 overs (Irfan Ahmed 100 not out, Jamie Atkinson 63 not out)

Result: Hong Kong won by nine wickets