Namibian cricket on a roll

Cricket Namibia believes that the sport is growing from strength to strength.

This is after the ICC Development Africa Conference five-day meeting was recently held in Windhoek.

The ICC Africa Conference is held annually by the ICC bringing together the 19 Associates and two full-member countries to review the past year, share successful events and plan for the upcoming year.

This year, the regional conference was about innovation; thinking differently; and celebrating and empowering Africa's leaders.

“It has been five years since we last received an award from the ICC, which was when we were awarded as the Best Overall Cricket Development in Africa.

“This year Cricket Namibia received an award for the Most Improved Association in Africa during 2018, which was presented by the International Cricket Council at a gala event in Windhoek on Saturday 27 April 2019,” Natalia Nauyoma of Cricket Namibia said.

The criteria that ICC considered for the Most Improved award were the improvement made in the last 12 months regarding the development structure, governance, player performance and efficiency of the Cricket Namibia office.

“We have been, and still are, working on improving governance, relating more with each other and making good decisions that will influence the right direction of the organisation. “In March this year we hosted the U19 World Cup Africa qualifier, whilst in April we hosted the World Cricket League 2 Final Qualifier as well as the Africa Regional High-Performance Conference and the ICC Regional Conference all during the same overlapping period.”

Cricket Namibia says it has worked hard as an organisation and has created a culture of unity on and off the field.

The association attributes some of its success to the on-field activities which saw Namibia coming out as the champions in the tournament recently held in Namibia where Namibia gained ODI status after 16 years.

“Off the field, our efforts have been recognised by the ICC with the award of this prestigious trophy.

“Our board has made it clear that our long-term objective is to make cricket the sport of choice for Namibia, to offer a professional career to men's and women's players alike and to represent Namibia in the best possible light on the world stage.”

The organisation emphasised its recent successes on and off the field as a clear indication that they are moving in the right direction.

“It is particularly encouraging to note the positive reaction of all of the participants to recent tournaments and conferences in Namibia.

“We all understand that sport is a team event, but what is also not always remembered is that the team is not only the players on the field but also a huge array of often unknown and largely unrecognised supporters.”

Cricket Namibia expressed gratitude towards everyone who worked hard to make the grounds and facilities ready and of international standard; the hotel staff, the transport companies, the security personnel, ambulance and emergency staff, caterers, ground staff, venue managers, liaison officers, the visa consultants, officials of Home Affairs and the Namibia Sports Commission, equipment suppliers, scorers, umpires, casuals, sponsors, a whole range of volunteers and staff members.

The cricket body admitted to have made many mistakes over the past few years but is positive that the future of cricket will be bright.

JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA