Namibia slightly ahead after wicket-filled day

Ireland 75 for 4 (White 20*, O'Brien 20*, Klazinga 2-21) trail Namibia 244 (van der Westhuizen 65, Dockrell 5-71) by 169 runs with six wickets remaining

On a see-saw day in Stormont, George Dockrell and Ireland's seamers had put Namibia in trouble before a whirlwind half-century from Louis van der Westhuizen got the visitors to a respectable total. Namibia's opening bowlers then left Ireland reeling at 31 for 4. An unbroken partnership between Andrew White and Kevin O'Brien restored some parity but Namibia will be hoping for a first-innings lead with only two wickets standing between them and Ireland's tail.

Ireland would not have expected to finish the day behind after the first session. Some well-directed swing bowling from John Mooney got them off to the perfect start with two wickets falling in the first nine overs after they had put Namibia in to bat. By lunch Namibia were 80 for 4, and then soon after the break George Dockrell's second wicket made it 87 for 5. The second session was an eventful one: Ireland took four wickets, with Dockrell claiming three of them, but van der Westhuizen scored a blazing 65 off 54 balls to get Namibia past 200 by tea.

van der Westhuizen has developed a reputation for big hitting in recent months. In the ICC Africa Region Division One Twenty20 tournament, he hit a remarkable 159 off 70 balls against Kenya, a marauding 97 off 40 against Ghana and another half-century versus Uganda. When Namibia played the 50-over matches in Ireland in July, van der Westhuizen had already given the opposition warning of his abilities with a couple of lightning-quick cameos down the order. In Stormont today he came out at No. 7 and played himself in before going for some lofted shots.

Ireland would still have been satisfied with bowling Namibia out within the day and Dockrell getting his first five-wicket haul for Ireland. But the initiative was seized away from them by a combination of accurate bowling from Christi Viljoen and Louis Klazinga, and some poor strokes.

Published by Unknown on 02:48. Filed under Breaking News, Feature . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0