Namibia will return to a global cricket tournament for the first time since 2003 while the Dutch have also secured their ticket to Australia next year
Namibia, Netherlands book T20 World Cup spot
Namibia will appear at the T20 World Cup for the first time after beating Oman in Dubai, joining the Netherlands on Tuesday by qualifying for next year's tournament.
Allrounder JJ Smit blasted 59 off 25 balls as Namibia beat Oman by 54 runs to progress to the eight-team 'First Round' of the World Cup in Australia in October 2020.
Nine days ago, Namibia had just lost by 81 runs to PNG – their second consecutive defeat at the #T20WorldCup Qualifier.
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) October 29, 2019
Five games and five wins later and they're on the plane to Australia.
A phenomenal turnaround from the Namibian team 👏 👏 pic.twitter.com/Xq5NTztAjq
Namibia posted 7-161 after choosing to bat, with Smit smacking five sixes in a match-winning innings following a steady 45 from Craig Williams.
Oman, who took part in the 2016 T20 World Cup, began well in reply as Khawar Ali and Aqib Ilyas put on 57 for the second wicket after Jatinder Singh was removed for a first-ball duck.
Left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz trapped Ilyas (18) in front and then had Ali (41) stumped as Oman staggered to 4-64 before folding meekly.
Scholtz finished with 3-14 while Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus took three wickets of his own, including that of opposing skipper Zeeshan Maqsood (2), as Oman slumped to 107 all out.
"We got so many messages from people back home believing in us, and we did it finally," said Smit.
"I'm relieved. We've been on the wrong side of many of these tournaments."
Namibia, who lost all six of their games at the 50-over World Cup in 2003, meet Papua New Guinea in the competition semi-finals, while Oman can still qualify if they beat Hong Kong in a playoff.
Earlier, the Netherlands punched their ticket to Australia after thrashing the United Arab Emirates by eight wickets.
A very happy and proud captain right now! Qualification secured ✅, sights now on the title 🏆! Credit to the players and support staff, but also to all the players that are not with us right now, you are all part of the journey 🧡🧡 @cambo_19 @KNCBcricket @T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/RhebetCw7l
— Pieter Seelaar (@seelaar8) October 29, 2019
UAE, who started the tournament with victory over Ireland, could only muster 9-80 in their 20 overs which the Dutch knocked off with 29 balls remaining.
The Netherlands face already qualified Ireland in the semi-finals, while UAE have a final chance to reach the tournament in Australia when they face Scotland in a playoff on Wednesday.
UAE won the toss and chose to bat but were quickly in trouble as Rohan Mustafa fell to Fred Klaasen in the first over. Things turned from bad to worse as UAE lost their first five wickets for just nine runs.
Waheed Ahmed and Mohammad Boota went some way toward repairing the damage with a sixth-wicket partnership of 45 before both fell in the same over to Johannesburg-born Brandon Glover, whose 4-12 earned him the player of the match award.
Ahmed Raza top-scored with 22 from 24 balls, but a target of 81 was never likely to stretch the Dutch.
Max O'Dowd fell early but Ben Cooper, with 41 not out, guided the Dutch to victory.
Fourteen associate nations are competing at the World T20 Qualifier for the final six spots in the 'First Round' of next year's T20 World Cup in Australia. The first round will also feature Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and will be played in Geelong and Hobart.
Hosts Australia and other top nations such as India and England are already assured a spot in the 'Super 12' stage that will feature two groups of six before the knockout stages.
Australia have been placed in the Super 12's Group 1 along with Pakistan, New Zealand and the West Indies. India, England, South Africa and Afghanistan are in Group 2.
Both groups will be joined by two teams out of the tournament's first round.
Tickets for both the men's and women's tournaments can be purchased at the official ICC T20 World Cup website, t20worldcup.com