Namibia outlast Oman in ICC WCL Division 2

MUSCAT: A five-wicket haul by Bilal Khan went in vain as Oman went down to hosts Namibia in a thrilling encounter in the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 competition on Sunday.

In a crucial match of the competition played at Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek, Namibia won the toss and invited Oman to bat first. Oman, who lost their opening match to Canada but did well to defeat Nepal in their second outing, made disastrous start losing three wickets with just ten runs on the board.

However, Duleep Mendis coached side recovered well thanks mainly to Mohammed Nadeem and Jay Odedra before being all out for 165 in 48.5 overs.

Nadeem and Odedra contributed 26 runs each. Earlier, opening the innings Jatinder Singh made 29. For Namibia, JN Frylinck and SF Burger claimed two wickets.

Oman then made it difficult for the hosts with some tight bowling. However, despite being reduced to 65 for seven, Namibia fought bravely and achieved their target in 49.4 overs scoring 166 for the loss of eight wickets.

It was thanks to Gerhard Erasmus, who scored an unbeaten 63, and Johannes Smith, who scored 32 runs, Namibia recorded their first win in two matches. For Oman, Bilal Khan claimed five wickets while Fiaz Butt took two.

The top two teams from the sixteam competition advance to 2018 World Cup Qualifier while the bottom two will be relegated to Division 3. While Canada (6 points) with three wins in three outings lead the table, Nepal (4) and the UAE (2) are in the second and third place respectively and they are followed by Namibia (2 points from two matches) in the fourth place. Fifth-placed Oman should now win their remaining matches against the UAE and bottomplaced Kenya to avoid relegation. Oman take on the UAE on Monday.