Gerhard Erasmus raves about David Wiese: The Namibian captain acknowledged the crucial presence of a senior all-rounder in their team.
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Having witnessed a couple of upsets in its first two days, ICC T20 World Cup 2022 has witnessed a heartbreak on its fifth day. The 10th First Round match between Namibia and UAE in Geelong eliminated all doors of Super 12 qualification for the former in spite of them defeating Sri Lanka in their tournament opener.
Chasing a 149-run target, Namibia fell short by 7 runs to hand UAE their maiden T20 World Cup victory. Electing to bat first after winning the toss, United Arab Emirates captain Chundangapoyil Rizwan (43) put together an impact-generating 58-run second-wicket partnership alongside all-rounder Muhammad Waseem (50).
Although Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus expressed delight in restricting the opposition to under the 150-run mark, he couldn’t help but express disappointment around the overall result at the Simonds Stadium tonight.
“I thought we did well in patches with the ball to keep them to under 150 but I think it was much higher than par. All in all, quite disappointing to let them get away with a few cheap soft balls in between but I thought the fielding and bowling stuck together quite nicely,” Erasmus told the broadcaster during the post-match presentation ceremony.
Gerhard Erasmus raves about David Wiese for being match-winner for Namibia
Reduced to 69/7 in the 13th over, Namibian batters were distant away from what they were required to do to win a must-win match. A 42-ball 70-run eighth-wicket partnership between all-rounder David Wiese (55) and pacer Ruben Trumpelmann (25*) brought them closer to a win but their chances got significantly affected after Wiese’s dismissal in the last over.
Wiese, who hit three fours and as many sixes at a strike rate of 152.77, played a key role in putting together the third-highest eighth-wicket partnership (highest in a World Cup) in this format. Wiese, who was almost inconsolable after an eliminating loss, earned rich applause from Erasmus who acknowledged the benefits of his presence on the whole team.
“He’s a match-winner who plays all over the world. Our dressing room gets to learn a lot from him. He showed once again today that he’s world-class, taking it close out of nowhere,” Erasmus added.
