Namibia proved that their pre-tournament favourites tag wasn’t misplaced with an authoritative opening day eight-wicket win over fellow debutants Nigeria in the Kwibuka Women’s T20 International Tournament. The small crowd at Gahanga Stadium was praying that Namibia win the toss and bat first. But whereas their prayers weren’t answered, they got to watch Nigeria’s steady and cautious approach with the bat upfront. Like in the Rwanda-Botswana game, extras top scored for Nigeria - 19 in total – with Nigeria captain Samanthan Agazuma (7 runs off 11 balls) and Joy Efosa (7 runs off 22 balls) top scoring. After the power play, scoring even became tougher for the western Africans as Namibia captain Irene van Zyl introduced the dynamic pair of medium pacer Sylvia Shihepo and off spinner Victoria Hamunyela into the attack. Shihepo’s good control saw her claim 2 wickets for 4 runs in her 3-over spell, but it was Wamunyela that was more menacing with career-best figures of 4 wickets for 8 runs in 4 overs. She picked up her Player of the Match award from Martin Suji, a Kenyan legend who is the Technical Director of Rwanda Cricket Association. But Namibia coach Francois van der Merwe will particularly be impressed by her top order batters; Adri van der Merwe (13 runs off 15 balls), Arrasta Diergaardt (26 runs off 27 balls) and Kayleen-Ann Green (12 runs off 9 balls) getting valuable time in the middle ahead of their seemingly tougher matches in the coming days. Efosa was the brightest prospect for Nigeria with the ball – snaring two consolation wickets – as Namibia raced home in 9.2 overs with 58 balls to spare. Two fixtures are on card on Monday, June 7, with three-time winners Kenya starting their campaign against winless Botswana while Day One winners Rwanda and Namibia square off each looking to maintain their winning run.
