Wednesday 14 / May / 2025
Bridgetown, Barbados: Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus is looking forward to the opening match against Oman on Sunday (Monday, 4.30am, Oman time) and hopes they could begin the tournament with a victory.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference at the Kensington Oval stadium on Saturday, Erasmus said: “We recently concluded a series against Oman in Muscat. We did lose two games in the five-match series, but this is a new tournament, and it is a World Cup. We have had a fair amount of success in recent times, and we hope to continue with it. We hope to begin this World Cup with a win.”
Erasmus added: “We have good information about Oman as teams now have enough access to enough footage to analyse players from other teams.”
On the new format, which allows more Associate nations to compete in the 20-team World Cup, he said: “The sheer hunger of Associate nations can help them achieve great things. We are closing the gap with the Test-playing nations as we gain more exposure. Our players are eager to showcase their potential at the big stage.”
The Namibia skipper added: “What we lack in consistent exposure to the bigger teams we make up by experience in cut-throat matches at Associate teams’ level.”
He added: “Qualifying for major tournaments can be the difference between an Associate player having a job or not, can decide how big their country's slice of the ICC's revenue pie will be, or the difference between simply being able to afford to put on games. Tournament cricket normally suits the Associate nations. They only have something to gain."
"That type of pressure and consequence on the games, it would be interesting to see how other teams, especially teams that go really hard-up top, (handle that).
"Unfortunately, it doesn't come around enough for the Associate teams and they're not exposed to it year round. Making that jump up in a tournament and making it very quickly is really challenging, but really cool at the same time."
Namibia made the main stage of the 2021 World Cup that Australia won and took a major scalp by beating Sri Lanka in Hobart in the first match of the 2022 edition, yet they have not faced the Aussies in any format since the 2003 ODI World Cup.
Despite a drubbing at the hands of a nine-man team in a practice game last week, Erasmus insisted that his side will not be intimidated when they face Australia in Antigua later this month.
"It's not that big a novelty to play against the higher-level guys (anymore), guys who are playing in professional set-ups all year long. Definitely, the gap is closing," the 29-year-old Windhoek-born captain of a squad featuring several players who have played in overseas franchise T20 leagues.
"There's not that feeling of being overwhelmed any more, that feeling of not belonging, stepping on a field with a bunch of aliens.
"It's more about stepping over the line against your peers. We won't be stepping back to any of the Test nations."
