Namibia(NAM) after a tense super over win over Oman will lock horns with Scotland in the 12th match of T20I world cup 2024 .A tie and a wash-out so far in Group B doesn’t seem like it ought to have changed the state of play all that much, but suddenly it feels as though there will be a fair sight more than just pride on the line when Namibia(NAM) face off against Scotland at Bridgetown.
The Scots may feel, with 90 on the board none-down after ten against England in their first match, that the rain that seems to follow them around has done them out of a shot at a famous victory. But the point they take from that game could just put them on a path to a net run rate showdown with their southern neighbors for qualification to the Super 8s. First though, they have to get past Namibia, who have two points on the board courtesy a super-over win over Oman and may just be eyeing up a qualification spot themselves.
NAM vs SCO Previous Performances
Despite holding the upper hand in the fifty-over format in recent years, Scotland have never beaten Namibia in 20-over competition, Namibia coming out on top in all three of their matches to-date – four if you count the pre-status encounter at the 2012 Global Qualifier, a match which only Sufiyan Sharif and Richie Berrington will remember.
Both sides went unbeaten through their regional qualifiers to get here, seeing off a full member each on the way. Both are unbeaten still, and whichever takes two points back from the Kensington Oval will find themselves perhaps just one good win away from making the Super 8s, and with it direct qualification to the next edition of the tournament in 2026. In fact given the state of the rankings the road to 2026 for both sides almost certainly runs through either the Super 8s or through the ever-tougher regional qualification route.
Both the Scottish and Namibian camps are by now very clear on those calculations, and even though there’s still plenty of permutations that could play out both will be treating the game as if it were a knock-out.
Namibia and Scotland head into their clash high on confidence as they get ready to play the 12th match of the T20 World Cup at the Kensington Oval ground in Barbados. The Namibians head into the game on the back of their Super Over win over Oman. Scotland, on the other hand, saw their game against England being called off due to rain.
Namibia (NAM) nearly made a meal of their chase in the game against Oman, which ended in a tie. David Wiese put in a heroic performance with the bat and ball to bail his side out of trouble and help them register their first points of the tournament.
Scotland (SCO) batted well to score 90 runs for no loss after ten overs. George Munsey and Michael Jones took apart the much-favorite English bowling attack to help the team get a good start. It would have been a different game had the England team got a chance to bat, and the world could have witnessed what the Scottish bowlers are capable of.
NAM vs SCO Head to Head
Namibia have beaten Scotland in each of their three previous T20Is, including their only previous clash at a World Cup – a four-wicket win at Abu Dhabi in 2021.
NAM vs SCO Pitch Report
Two teams with a good bowling unit will want their captain to win the toss and bowl first. The overcast conditions will surely help the pacers with the movement on and off the pitch. Batters will have to negotiate the early movement and once they get their eye in it will be a great track to bat on.
The Bridgetown surface looked tough going when Namibia were batting on it against Oman, and indeed when Ruben Trumpelmann was bowling. By contrast, Scotland openers Munsey and Jones looked remarkably comfortable against England’s attack more recently, when it seemed as though their 9-an-over opening stand might not even be enough.
What to expect by game time is thus an open question, though the deck certainly seems to have hardened up. In terms of weather things looked much-improved as well, with clear skies and temperatures touching 30C predicted by the (admittedly mercurial) forecast at time of writing. If that holds true, expect a bat-first day.
The good news is that the weather in Barbados seems significantly better than it has been for the first week of the tournament. Only a small chance of rain is anticipated for each day until Sunday.
NAM vs SCO Big Picture Opportunity knocks after washout
The magic number would appear to be 109, to judge by the two very contrasting clashes that have so far taken place in Group B of the T20 World Cup 2024. In Barbados on Sunday evening, Namibia grunted and ground their way to two precious points thanks to David Wiese’s heroics in the Super Over, having only just managed to match Oman’s all-out total of 109 off the very last ball of their original 20 overs.
And then two days later, on the same surface at Bridgetown (albeit a less slow and sticky version to judge by the fluency of Scotland’s openers) George Munsey and Michael Jones dispatched England’s bowlers for 90 runs in ten overs either side of a two-hour rain delay … which, by the time DLS had worked its magic, meant England would have needed a target of, yes, 109 had the weather not closed back in to ruin the afternoon’s entertainment.
And so it’s back to Bridgetown we go for two teams that have been on a significant roll since the end of their respective campaigns at the last T20 World Cup in 2022. Last year, both Namibia and Scotland topped their regional qualifiers, in Africa and Europe respectively, with six wins out of six, against such less-vaunted opponents as Italy and Tanzania. Now, however, they go head-to-head with rather more than trans-continental bragging rights to play for.
England’s habitual discomfort against European opponents has seen to that. Irrespective of whether Tuesday’s washout was an opportunity won or lost for Scotland, the fact that Group B’s top seeds fell short of their anticipated two points means the door is ajar for a notable upset, particularly if Australia can inflict further damage on England’s standing in Saturday’s heavyweight clash
In the meantime, all that matters is victory here and now. If Scotland can grab the extra point that eluded them last time out, then maintain their 100% record in T20Is against Oman when they meet in Antigua in Sunday, then they will go into their final group game against Australia next week with qualification in their own hands. It’s a lot of “ifs” at this stage, of course. But one fewer than they needed at the start of their campaign.
As for Namibia, a three-point gap at the top of Group B beckons if they can make it two wins from two – and if they need any extra incentive, they need only rewind to their last T20 World Cup campaign two years ago, when qualification for the main event beckoned after their impressive victory over Sri Lanka in their opening fixture, only for the Netherlands and UAE to rip their dream away. They’ll be doubly keen to ensure this latest strong start doesn’t go to waste.
NAM VS SCO In the spotlight: Munsey and Trumpelmann
In an innings of two halves on Tuesday, Jones made the running for Scotland prior to the rain-break, including with what looked set to be the moment of the day – a violent pick-up off Chris Jordan that smashed a solar panel on the roof at midwicket. But then, in the 22-ball resumption, it was all about George Munsey, who clobbered 23 from his remaining 12 balls, including a stunning switch-hit six that a left-handed KP could scarcely have timed any better.
Namibia, however, know from recent experience that that shot is a Munsey trademark – at Kirtipur in February 2023, he unfurled a similar stroke for four to bring up his maiden ODI hundred, and seal a stunning ten-wicket win with a massive 167 balls to spare. In 2017, he scored his only first-class hundred against the same opponents, in the Intercontinental Cup in Ayr.
Munsey, however, will remember all too well what happened the last time he encountered the left-arm swing of Ruben Trumpelmann a T20 World Cup. Facing up to the first ball of the match, in Abu Dhabi in 2021, Munsey climbed into a cut but misjudged the width, and hacked the ball onto his own stumps.
Three balls later, Scotland were 2 for 3, as Calum McLeod and Richie Berrington were blasted from the crease with an aplomb to rival Mitchell Starc. And auspiciously for Namibia, Trumpelmann has started this latest tournament with similar devastation. Two balls versus Oman, two wickets in the bag, as both Kashyap Prajapati and Aqib Ilyas fell to savage, stump-seeking lbws.
NAM vs SCO Vital Stats that matters
Namibia are playing in their third consecutive T20 World Cup, after qualifying for the 2021 and 2022 events. They have won five of their 12 matches to date, including the recent Super Over victory against Oman.
Namibia have beaten Scotland in each of their three previous T20Is, including their only previous clash at a World Cup – a four-wicket win at Abu Dhabi in 2021.
Since then, however, Scotland have won five of the six ODIs that the two teams have ever contested – including the aforementioned Munsey masterclass in February 2023.
NAM vs SCO Playing XIs
Namibia Playing XI: JP Kotze, Nikolas Davin, Jan Frylinck, Gerhard Erasmus(c), Malan Kruger, JJ Smit, David Wiese, Zane Green(w), Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz, Tangeni Lungameni
Scotland Playing XI: George Munsey, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen, Richie Berrington(c), Matthew Cross(w), Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt, Christopher Sole, Brad Wheal, Brad Currie
Namibia vs Scotland Fantasy Playing XI: Jan Frylinck, Gerhard Erasmus(c),JJ Smit, David Wiese, Ruben Trumpelmann, George Munsey, Michael Jones, Brandon McMullen, Michael Leask, Chris Greaves, Mark Watt
NAM vs SCO Match Prediction
Namibia after a tightly fought super over vs Oman would look to put all their experience vs the Scotland but Scotland also would believe after a rollicking start vs England that this match would be a cracker of a contest with winner have to play their best game forward.