“Reward for three years of hard work”: Namibia cricket president heaps praise on the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 success

Namibia are through to the Super-12 stages of the ICC T20 World Cup, and this has been an astonishing achievement for the nation.

Nambia cricket history by defeating Ireland in the T20 World Cup qualifier game. They qualified for the Super-12 stages of the tournament, whereas it was also their first win against an ICC full-time member.

This is their first-ever presence in the ICC T20 Tournament, and they have been absolutely brilliant. Rudi van Vuuren, the cricket Namibia president, has expressed his joy on the same in a recent interview with Cricbuzz. “It has been a reward for three years of hard work; now have to expand our player base,” Vuuren said.

“The ICC is using us as a case study for corporate governance,” Vuuren added.

Talking about Vuuren, he is a former cricketer, and he took the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in 2003. He has also played Rugby World Cup for Namibia, whereas he is now a doctor of medicine.

The answer to today’s WC #FlashCricQuiz: who is the only man to have represented his nation at both the cricket and rugby World Cups?

ANSWER: Rudi van Vuuren of Namibia, who played in the 2003 World Cups in both cricket and rugby union!#CWC19 #AUSvSL #ENGvAFG pic.twitter.com/LOQibuyvHY

— 🏏FlashScore Cricket Commentators (@FlashCric) May 27, 2019

The rise of cricket in Namibia

The Super-12 qualification for Namibia is not a small achievement for the side. Cricket is not even in the top-3 sports of the country. Football is the most famous sport, along with Rugby and Athletics.

“Cricket is seen largely as a white man sport in our black majority nation. We have to attract black players into the game. Today’s win will help in our efforts,” van Vuuren said,

The population of Namibia is just 2.5 million, whereas there are only 460 senior male players. Therefore, the Super-12 qualification will certainly motivate more youngsters to take the game ahead.

What a day for cricket in #Namibia#IREvNAM | #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/GLAlsx02zo

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) October 22, 2021

Namibia’s turning point came in 2019 when ICC awarded them the ODI status. This allowed them to get more funds from the ICC, and they managed to rope in South African all-rounder Albie Morkel in the support staff. With the Super-12 qualification this year, they have also qualified for the next year’s world cup in Australia.

The Namibian team is now aiming to qualify for the 2023 Cricket World Cup, and if they can achieve that, Namibian cricket will certainly take a huge step in the right direction. However, they have already punched above their weight.