Namibia qualify for T20 World Cup 2024 after incredible winning streak
Namibia have ensured that they will be a part of the 2024 T20 World Cup to be played in the West Indies and the USA in June next year. A commanding win against Tanzania in the T20 World Cup Africa Region Qualifier has propelled the Eagles to the top of the table with five wins from five.
This has ensured them a top-two finish which will be enough to see them board the flight to the Caribbean in about seven months' time. This would be their third successive appearance in the tournament, having already played in the 2021 and 2022 editions.
JJ Smit's cameo of 40*(25), supported well by contributions from other batters allowed the Eagles to post a competitive total of 157/6 in their 20 overs. In reply, Tanzania just didn't get any momentum whatsoever as they could only muster 99/6 despite playing the whole quota of overs.
While Zimbabwe were expected to be in the top two spots at the time of writing, the shock loss to Uganda has seen them bag just four points after four games. They will need to pull up their socks if they want to secure the second qualifying position for the T20 World Cup next year.
Namibia's journey in T20 World Cups
After losing to Sri Lanka on their T20 World Cup debut back in 2021, Namibia managed to turn it around and beat the Netherlands and Ireland to get to the Super 12 stage of the tournament. Although they could win just one game in that phase, against Scotland, the Eagles had made the world sit back and take notice.
They didn't manage to break into the Super 12 phase in the 2022 edition of the tournament. However, the win over Sri Lanka was certainly an indication that Namibia have the talent for a promising cricketing future.