ABOUT THE MATCH
One of Namibia and Oman will secure their place at the ICC T20 World Cup when they meet in the second semi-final play-off of the qualifier tournament in Dubai. The match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium takes place on October 29.
Namibia charged into the playoffs by winning their final four consecutive group games in Group A, with Jan Frylinck in top bowling form among other stand-out performances. They are looking to qualify for the main tournament for the first time as they bid to continue their momentum in this match.
Oman, on the other hand, came into the tournament in good form and looked set to secure their World Cup spot until they fluffed their lines in their final group game defeat to Jersey meaning they must qualify through the play-offs instead.
TOSS PREDICTION
Namibia was grateful to be asked to bat by Singapore last time out and after smashing their way to a big total they would probably be happy to set a target instead.
PITCH AND CONDITIONS
While the evening will naturally mean a bit of the scorching mid-day heat will have eased, it is still set to be hot and dry in Dubai.
Namibia racked up a big score in their most recent match in Dubai, which remains a batting wicket even if there were some low-scoring games there on the final day of the group stage.
PROBABLE PLAYING XI OF Namibia
Stephan Baard, Niko Davin, JP Kotze, Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus (c), JJ Smit, Zane Green (wk), Christi Viljoen, Jan Frylinck, Ben Shikongo, Bernard Scholtz
PROBABLE PLAYING XI OF Oman
Jatinder Singh, Khawar Ali, Aqib Ilyas, Zeeshan Maqsood (c), Aamir Kaleem, Suraj Kumar (wk), Khurram Nawaz, Sandeep Goud, Mohammad Nadeem, Fayyaz Butt, Bilal Khan
MATCH PREVIEW
Namibia
- Stephan Baard’s return for the third match of the group stage coincided with Namibia finding some winning form they have stuck with the same team since and will probably be unchanged for a fifth consecutive game this time out.
- Namibia won their final four group games in a row to charge up the table and into the play-offs.
- Captain Gerhard Erasmus found some top batting form in the final two games of that run-hitting half-centuries against both Kenya and Singapore.
- Namibia set Kenya 182 to win and the bowled them out for 94 as Bernard Scholtz took 4-12, while Singapore was dismissed for 104 in reply to 191/8 Jan Frylinck claiming 4-21.
Oman
- Kaleemullah replaced Fayyaz Butt last time out, but Oman could revert to the team that beat Canada after he failed to make a positive impact with the ball.
- Oman won four of their first five group games but fluffed their lines in their final game against Jersey a defeat which cost them top spot.
- Mohammad Nadeem’s 4-23 left them chasing 142 to win, but Oman could only manage 127/9, as they slipped to 6/3 from two overs and Zeeshan Maqsood’s half-century proved in vain.
PROBABLE WINNING TEAM:
Namibia has won their last four matches in a row so, although they start this game as outsiders, they could upset the odds and book their place at the T20 World Cup for the first time.
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