By: Hee-Dee Walenga
Cricket Namibia officially opened the FNB Namibia Cricket Ground on Saturday afternoon by beating the world-famous South African Proteas by 4 wickets in a T20I matchup in Windhoek.
The fixture acted as the official opening of the FNB Namibia Cricket Ground. The venue will be a site for the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup, which Namibia is co-hosting with South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The sold-out crowd of 4,000 created an electric atmosphere, with the energy remaining high all afternoon long. South Africa batted first and put up 134/8 for the FNB Eagles of Namibia to chase down.
Namibia battled throughout the second half before birthday boy Zane Green scored a four on the very last ball of the match to give Namibia a historic victory. It was the first time Namibia played South Africa, a Tier 1 nation, in any international format. It is only the fourth time that Namibia has beaten a Tier 1/Full Member nation, having won Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Sri Lanka on previous occasions.
Player of the match went to Namibia’s Ruben Trumpelmann. Trumpelmann also won the bowler of the match award after taking three wickets. South Africa’s Jason Smith won the Batter of the Match award, after scoring 31 runs.
The occasion saw youngster Max Heingo making his senior international debut. Heingo played a critical role, taking two wickets for the Eagles. Speaking to The Villager after the match, Heingo said, “It felt really good. I was nervous in the beginning, but I got over it. I want to say a big thank you to all the fans.” Heingo went to share that his teammate, Ben Shikongo, is his inspiration. “Ben is my role model, he inspired me. We grew up in the same town,” Heingo expressed.
The match was the culmination of the hard work that Cricket Namibia put in over the years to get the N$72 million facility ready to host the South African side. Cricket Namibia president, Rudie van Vuuren, told the media,”You couldn’t have scripted this any better. All the work of the last 8 years came together in one moment. I am glad we could give something to inspire the Namibian people. This is nation-building.”
Photos: Hee-Dee Walenga
Namibia’s Vice President, Lucia Witbooi, and Deputy Minister of Sport, Dino Ballotti, were also in attendance.
