Three for three for juniors

Namibia’s Under-19 cricket national team has won its first three games at the African Championships under way in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Their undefeated streak means that the Namibians are on track to finish the tournament in first place and qualify for the World Champs, even though they still have to face potentially equally strong Uganda (today) and Kenya (tomorrow) in their next two encounters. Guided by head coach Norbert Manyande, the U-19s got off to a perfect start on Saturday against host Tanzania, scoring 187 all out in testing conditions and then restricting their opponents to 85 all out. Fritz Coetzee was Namibia’s outstanding player, taking five wickets. Their impressive run continued the next day as they beat Nigeria with a tremendous 170 runs. This time around SJ Loftie-Eaton was unstoppable, scoring 81 runs in steering his country to a tough 251 runs in total. Yesterday the team faced Botswana. Bursting with confidence, the Namibians thrashed their neighbours. Namibia lost the toss and were asked to bat first. They posted a mammoth 320 off their 50 overs thanks to a fantastic 155 (not out) off just 129 balls from Zane Green, who won the Man of the Match award. Namibia made light work of the Botswana batting order, after bowling them out for a mere 55 with Ruben van der Berg taking five wickets. The event is part of a series of regular cricket tournaments organised by the African Cricket Association (ACA) for under-19 teams from its member nations. While it has had various names (and formats), Namibia is arguably the most successful after winning five of the last seven editions. The first of these biennial championships was staged in 2001. Namibia are the defending champs, having won the 2013 edition by beating Kenya by 52 runs in Uganda. Should Namibia win this tournament they will qualify for the 2016 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, which will take place in Bangladesh. The winning country will join the ICC’s ten full members as well as the five regional winners in the 16-team event. The 16th spot in Bangladesh will go to the best of the second-place finishers from the regions, who will play in a separate playoff event. Namibia’s Upcoming Games: Today, February 18: Namibia v Uganda Tomorrow, February 19: Namibia v Kenya WINDHOEK-SPORT REPORTER