DELIVERING WORLD-CLASS EVENTS // ICC WORLD CRICKET LEAGUE DIVISION 2


89


HISTORY MADE IN WINDHOEK


Omanplayed their first ever ODI and Claire Polosak became the firstwomanto officiate in a men’s ODI


Hosts Namibia were crowned ICC Men’s World Cricket League Division 2 champions after a comprehensive victory over Oman in the final at the Wanderers cricket ground in Windhoek.


Both finalists were already assured of qualification to the 2019-21 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2, guaranteeing their ODI status in the process, even before taking to the field.


The final, in common with the third-place play- off, was given ODI status, which made it the first ODI in Oman’s history and Namibia’s first for more than 16 years.


The match made history in another way with Australian Claire Polosak becoming the first woman to stand in a men’s ODI. In 2017 Polosak, who has umpired 15 women’s ODIs, became the first female umpire to stand in a men’s domestic fixture in Australia.


In the final, Namibia reversed their group-stage defeat to the same opponents to win by a commanding 145-run margin, left-handed opener Karl Birkenstock making 61 in Namibia’s total of 226 for seven from their 50 overs after opting to bat first, before left-arm seamer Jan Frylinck took five for 13 as Oman were dismissed for 81.


Frylinck, a former South Africa Under-19, took three of those wickets in his first four overs as Oman stumbled to 26 for four and never sufficiently recovered, despite a patient 27 from wicketkeeper Suraj Kumar.


Fittingly, Namibia’s victory was wrapped up when their other left-arm quick, Johannes Smit, had last-man Bilal Khan caught behind a fifth catch in the innings for Zane Green to give him figures of three for 21 and clinch the Player of the Tournament award for his 13 wickets at 14.69, including five for 63 against the United States, and two half-centuries.


Oman, who had won November’s Division 3 tournament as hosts with five victories out of five, continued in impressive form by winning their opening three matches against the United States, Canada and Hong Kong before defeating Namibia by four wickets, guaranteeing their place in the final.


Namibia won the right to join them by racking up 393 for seven - the tournament’s biggest team score - to beat Hong Kong by 151 runs in their final round-robin match, after Jean-Pierre Kotze (148) and Stephen Baard (122) had made the two highest individual scores.


The United States were being beaten by Canada in their final round-robin match, which meant that Namibia finished second on superior run-rate, both teams having won three of their five fixtures.


Papua New Guinea, delighted to have regained their ODI status after pipping Canada by 0.012 of a run for fourth place in the table, then beat the US by five wickets to finish third. The top four are all promoted to the 2019-21 ICC Men’s World Cup League 2, with Canada and Hong Kong, who occupied fifth and sixth places, going into the 2019-21 ICC Men’s World Cup Challenge League.


There were five other centuries scored in the tournament, topped by Navneet Dhaliwal’s 121 not out for Canada against the United States. The US’s Aaron Jones and Xavier Marshall also made hundreds, as did Hong Kong’s Anshuman Rath and Oman’s Zeeshan Maqsood.


Ali Khan of the United States was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 17, followed by Oman’s Fayyaz Butt with 16. Kinchit Shah (Hong Kong), who finished as joint-leading spin bowler with Canada’s Saad Bin Zafar on 11 wickets, took a hat-trick in his side’s win over Canada.


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