Gerhard Erasmus believes his side simply "didn't play well enough" in Australia but must refocus on a crucial block of ODIs. David Wiese, meanwhile, who nearly pulled off a surprise comeback against the UAE, has put to bed any talk of retirement
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus is dwelling on the "disappointment" of his side's first round exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup, instead hoping they can use their performances in Australia to fuel future success.
Namibia reached the Super 12s at the 2021 tournament, going on to finish fifth in group 2 after picking up a win over fellow qualifiers Scotland, and were well placed to do so again this year after beginning their tournament with a convincing 55-run win over Sri Lanka.
A five-wicket defeat against the Netherlands left them needing a victory over the United Arab Emirates to secure a top-two finish – a result they would have felt confident of achieving. However, the UAE, who had come within a dropped catch of defeating the Netherlands in their tournament opener, successfully defended 148, clinging on for a seven-run win to break Namibian hearts.
"I can't really put it into words," Erasmus admitted. "Last year we were at the other end of this, so it's tough trying to decipher where it went wrong. It's very disappointing having lost two in a row and it's hard to get your head around.
"We tried in both games to do the rescue [after poor starts] and I'm really proud of the guys, of the coaching staff, how we've responded to tough situations.
Namibia celebrate their win over Sri Lanka [Martin Keep/Getty Images]
"It's now just a matter of assessing all of that. I think in tough situations like this is when you shape new great things to happen. I've seen many teams use some form of disappointment to recreate another phase of success for themselves. This disappointment should spur us forward to more of that success.
"Some of the guys gained great experience from this tournament, guys like Divan La Cock and some of the youngsters. In order to continue strengthening and deepening our squad, this was an invaluable experience for the guys."
Pressed to identify where Namibia's campaign went wrong, Erasmus agreed the schedule faced by teams in round one was tough but refused to use it an excuse for his side's exit: "Tournament cricket can be quite funny. It's very tough to control the time you peak in a tournament because it's often not in your control, how the momentum swings and how things play out in the tournament.
"Three games in five days is quite a lot. Not physically, but mentally it's quite a quick turnaround. [You] instantly need to reset once you have a big high like we did against Sri Lanka. But I don't think it's any excuse for our situation.
"We knew we had to win two games – our goal was to win all three – and after that win against Sri Lanka, it was all about just pitching up and performing again. All in all, we just didn't play well enough for the two wins."
David Wiese nearly single-handedly dragged Namibia into the Super 12s [Martin Keep/Getty Images]
In their crunch match against the UAE, Namibia were guilty of letting their opponents off the hook in the first innings, with CP Rizwan and Basil Hameed smashing 35 runs off 18 balls for the fourth wicket as the bowlers underperformed at the death.
Chasing 149, they then collapsed to 69 for 7 in the 13th over before David Wiese, accompanied by No.9 Ruben Trumpelmann, came agonisingly close to securing a spot in the Super 12s. Wiese anchored his side for several overs, scoring a run-a-ball 21 before accelerating to bring up his half-century off 31 balls. He and Trumpelmann dragged the equation back from 80 runs off 44 balls to 14 off six but couldn't quite get over the line, with Wiese falling to part-time medium pacer Muhammad Waseem with three deliveries remaining.
"Because we lost those wickets in the middle, we couldn't really afford to go too early. I had to take it deep, try to take it as late as possible," Wiese said, explaining his approach to the chase. "They bowled nicely in the middle and had all the momentum, so we knew if we could just hold on until the end, we could maybe cause a little panic and get one or two big overs. With the short boundaries, I always thought [that] was possible.
"We've got a saying, 'being better for longer' – trying to stay out there and be that guy that's there in the last over and hitting those winning runs. Unfortunately, it just didn't work out that way tonight. They executed their skills nicely and we just fell short."
Addressing Rizwan's decision to bowl Waseem at the death, he continued: "I was looking at the bowlers and knew at some stage they'd have to bowl the spinners [who] we were going to target. We were't expecting Waseem to come on, but when you come on at the end of the day as a part-timer you would expect him to miss one or two. But he bowled really well tonight, he executed his skill. Fair play to them, well bowled."
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus [Martin Keep/Getty Images]
Looking forward, Erasmus' focus has immediately turned to Namibia's upcoming block of ODI fixtures as part of the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2. In November, and December, his side are set to contest two tri-series – one against Papua New Guinea and USA and another against Nepal and Scotland – before facing Nepal and Scotland again in February 2023. Namibia are currently in fifth position, three points behind third-placed USA, who occupy the final spot for automatic progression to the 2023 Cricket World Cup qualifier event in Zimbabwe next summer.
As for Wiese's future, the 37-year-old is not considering retirement with another T20 World Cup on the horizon.
"There's another T20 World Cup in 2024 that we're going to qualify for. That's my next goal. I'm still feeling good, as good as I've ever been. So long as they'll have me, I'll keep coming back. I've got a lot of cricket left in me for Namibia," he said.
"As a cricketer nowadays, there's so many tournaments but it's nice to have that home base and a team you can resonate with, that's close to your heart. Being a tournament player, it's often in for four weeks, out, and self-preservation. You do well in that tournament, you get picked up for the next one.
"It's a different story playing for your country. The attachment I have to these guys: they're such hard-working guys, such good human beings. You just want the best for them. I believe good things happen to good people and it's a really good bunch of guys. That's the most disappointing part, that they won't get the opportunity to showcase their skills in the next round."
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