Namibia players during 2026 ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup (Source: AFP Photos)
Namibia made history on Sunday in Windhoek, defeating Ireland in the fifth and final ODI of the series. In the process, they made history, securing their first-ever bilateral series triumph against a full-member nation.
One of the co-hosts of the 2027 World Cup alongside South Africa and Zimbabwe, Namibia’s five-match ODI series against Ireland ended with a scoreline of 3-2 in their favour. They bowled Ireland out for 129 in 33.1 overs, and chased down the target in just 21.2 overs with five wickets in hand to register a landmark victory.
JJ Smit, Gerhard Erasmus Help Namibia To Script History
In the Namibia vs Ireland decider, JJ Smit was the architect of Namibia’s victory. Smit took the new ball in hand, and bowled three maiden overs in his nine-over spell.
In between, he took three wickets to tear apart Ireland’s middle order, which included the wickets of captain Lorcan Tucker, Curtis Campher and George Dockrell.
More significantly, all three wickets came in the space of four balls, and Ireland could not recover after the serious damage done by Smit. Eventually, he returned 3/20 off his nine overs.
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus, on the other hand, made 30 runs off just 18 deliveries in the fifth ODI. He was also named the Player of the series, courtesy of taking four wickets as well as scoring 263 runs across five innings.
Namibia vs Ireland Series Results
As it was 50-over bilateral series, Namibia received a massive boost for World Cup 2027 with a victory over Ireland.
The Irish side, led by Tucker, began with a comfortable 55-run victory in the 1st ODI, but Namibia came back strongly to secure something which they never did in the past.
Match | Venue | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
First ODI | Windhoek | Ireland won by 55 runs | Ireland |
Second ODI | Windhoek | Namibia won by 31 runs | Namibia |
Third ODI | Windhoek | Namibia won by 63 runs | Namibia |
Fourth ODI | Windhoek | Ireland won by 130 runs | Ireland |
Fifth ODI | Windhoek | Namibia won by 5 wickets | Namibia |
