Famous win over Proteas will echo for generations

Heroic scripts were written that will inspire future generations, as the FNB Eagles once again ripped up their underdog tags to shock South Africa’s Proteas by four wickets in their first-ever senior international T20 match-up – at the occasion of inaugurating the FNB Namibia Cricket Ground.South Africa on Saturday became the fourth Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) to be defeated by associate member Namibia in a T20 international, after Zimbabwe, Ireland and Sri Lanka.As quietly confident as Gerhard Erasmus’ men may have been in their chances of taking advantage of the unpredictable nature of cricket’s shortest format, a win over last year’s beaten finalist at the T20 World Cup appeared perhaps too much to ask.However, South Africa struggled to a total of 134/8 and the Eagles fought their way to a famous by reaching 138/6 off the final ball.Batting was tricky for both sides and Namibia had South Africa in trouble at 82/6 in the 13th over, thanks largely to good catching. In the first over SA veteran opener Quinton de Kock (1) was lured by Gerhard Erasmus to send a catch to Ruben Trumpelmann, which immediately got the crowd of 4 000 into the action.Trumpelmann (3/28) got the wickets of Reeza Hendricks (7), Rubin Hermann (23) and top-scorer Jason Smith (31 off 30 balls; 2x4).Debutant Max Heingo, a somewhat surprise inclusion from the Namibia U19 team this year, removed opener Lhuandré Pretorius (caught Green, for 22 off 22) and later Donovan Ferreira (4) too.In Namibia’s innings, Zane Green played a heroic part on his 29th birthday, hitting the winning runs with a boundary off the last ball, after he also hit a six off the first ball of the 20th over by Andile Simelane.The wicketkeeper-batsman showed admirable maturity under pressure to finish the job after the Proteas bowlers had managed to dismiss the FNB Eagles' top six of Jan Frylinck (7), Louren Steenkamp (13), Nicol Loftie-Eaton (7), Gerhard Erasmus (21 off 21 balls; 3x4), JJ Smit (13 off 14 balls) and Malan Kruger (18 off 21 balls; one six) – which left Green and Trumpelmann with 34 runs still required off 21 balls.Nine years ago, Green was also the captain when Namibia famously stunned South Africa in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.Green said the team worked hard in preparation of this day, knowing it will be tough, but strongly believing a good result would be possible.“In the final overs, the message was to stay in a competitive position for as long as possible. We knew if we could bat out 20 overs we should be pretty close to the target. We tried to stay calm and play each ball on its own, and to back our abilities.“We almost never play in front of crowds supporting us, so this win was for the whole country and especially everyone behind the scenes of our cricket set-up.”Legacy projectGrinning from ear to ear post-match, Cricket Namibia president Rudie van Vuuren said in an interview not even Steven Spielberg could have scripted the day any better.“The opening of your stadium, a legacy project, all the work over the last eight years ... just coming together in one moment. One ball. It’s too much for me; my tank is empty,” Van Vuuren said.“This is nation building. This is why Namibia is such a special country; the best country in the world – because of its people. I’m just glad that we could give something to the Namibian public ... something to be proud of; something to inspire us. This is what can be done in sport in this country. So I hope we can take it further.”Erasmus understandsWhile the usually unsympathetic South African public have already started dishing out criticism to their team, Eagles captain Gerhard Erasmus pointed out some telling factors.“We knew we had to level up when we meet this kind of opposition, which to an extent I think we did. We also managed to play the (windy) conditions pretty well, according to our knowledge. “We know it’s tough to come and play a once-off T20 international, with limited time for training, so we tried to feed a little bit off that. “I don’t think we were more talented, but we stuck to our guns. Getting a last-ball win was indeed special.”Erasmus again praised Cricket Namibia’s leadership and administration team, with CEO Johan Müller’s drive and vision coming to fruition at the stadium’s inauguration.“I can honestly say that I think cricket is the best-run sport in the country. People can see it factually, with the stadium we built here, so lots of credit to all the off-field role players.“We want to thank the Cricket SA board for what they have produced for us on this day. Sending a team, as I said earlier, to play a once-off T20 match is tough. We understand that as cricketers, and they still put themselves out there with a strong white-ball team despite at the same time required with a tour to Pakistan around the corner.“We appreciate that. We wanted to build on the brotherhood and we want them to come back often and build the relationship that benefit both parties.”

Famous win over Proteas will echo for generations

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-23

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Famous win over Proteas will echo for generations

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-23

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