Team news, likely XIs, form guide, players to watch, odds, TV and streaming information, weather forecast, umpire appointments and everything else you need to know
Namibia take on Netherlands in the preliminary round of the T20 World Cup.
The game is scheduled for 2pm local time (11am BST) on Wednesday, October 20, 2021.
The game will be held at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium: Ground guide
Netherlands started their T20 World Cup campaign in disappointing fashion, losing to Ireland by seven wickets. Pieter Seelaar's men were undone by Curtis Campher's four wickets in four balls and limped to 106 all out with the bat - a total which Ireland chased down with 29 balls to spare. Netherlands have now lost two of their past three T20 matches.
Namibia, meanwhile, were no match for Sri Lanka in their tournament opener. A 39-run stand between Craig Williams and Gerhard Erasmus was the highlight of the day for Namibia, who collapsed from 68 for 2 to 96 all out. Sri Lanka completed the chase inside 14 overs.
Netherlands and Nambia have met just once in a T20I, with the former completing a 44-run victory in Dubai in 2019.
Netherlands are the favourites to win this match, with Dafabet offering odds of 1/2. Namibia are available at 6/4.
For Netherlands, the standout batter is Max O'Dowd. The 27-year-old, who is ranked 417th on the T20 Player Index, was the only Dutch batter to experience any joy against Ireland's bowlers, posting a measured 51 from 47 deliveries (Seelaar's 21 was the next highest score). O'Dowd has now scored 20-plus runs in eight of his past 10 white-ball innings, including twice passing 50 and once reaching triple figures. His will be the crucial wicket for Namibia.
Also keep an eye on their middle order trio of Colin Ackermann, Ryan ten Doeschate and Roelef van der Merwe. The county cricket regulars were all on the receiving end of Campher's remarkable spell, with the latter pair departing for one-ball ducks. How they fare against Namibia's bowlers will likely be crucial in setting an unchaseable target or producing a run rate-boosting chase.
For Namibia, Bernard Scholtz impressed with the ball against Sri Lanka, taking 1 for 16 from his three overs of spin (including two in the powerplay). The 31-year-old has 118 wickets to his name in 103 career T20 appearances and is second-highest wicket-taker for Namibia in T20I history, with 29 in 21 matches.
It's also hard to look beyond skipper Gerhard Erasmus, who was the player of the tournament in the T20 World Cup Qualifier. He's a strong batter, with a T20I strike rate of 138.97, and a handy off-spin bowler, with 12 T20I wickets and an economy of 5.3. His 19-ball 20 against Sri Lanka was a taste of his batting potential, now it's time to see what he can do against more-closely matched opposition.
Coming soon.
The following umpires and match referees have been named by the ICC to officiate in the T20 World Cup 2021:
Referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Javagal Srinath
Umpires: Chris Brown, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Rod Tucker, Joel Wilson, Paul Wilson
The following officials have been allocated to this fixture:
On-field umpires: Gough, Rusere
TV umpire: Menon
Fourth umpire: P Wilson
Referee: Srinath
Full T20 World Cup officials appointments: Click here
Sunny conditions are forecast for Abu Dhabi, with temperatures expected to peak at 33 degrees Celsius.
Follow the Met Office forecast here.
Yes, though Covid protocols including the wearing of face masks will be in place.
Click here to visit the ICC's ticketing site.
Despite their unconvincing performance against Ireland, Netherlands should be too strong for Namibia.
T20 WORLD CUP TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Talk Talk 404, BT TV 423, Virgin 504) will broadcast the series in the United Kingdom, with the content available online via its streaming platform Sky Go.
BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra will have live ball-by-ball radio commentary of all tournament matches, accessible through the BBC Sport website, BBC Sounds or DAB radio.
The Star Sports network is showing the tournament in India. Matches can be streamed via Disney+ Hotstar
Other broadcasters by territory:
Australia - Fox Sports, Channel 9, Kayo Sports
New Zealand – Sky Sport New Zealand
Pakistan - PTV Sports, Ten Sports
Bangladesh - Ghazi Tv (GTV)
Sri Lanka – SLRC (Channel Eye)
South Africa – SuperSport
Caribbean – ESPN
Middle East and North Africa – eLife TV, StarzPlay, Switch TV
USA – ESPN+
Singapore - Star Cricket, Star Hub and Singtel
Malaysia - Fox International Channels
Hong Kong - Star Cricket
Netherlands: Pieter Seelaar (c), Colin Ackermann, Philippe Boissevain, Bas de Leede, Paul van Meekeren, Ben Cooper, Max O'Dowd, Scott Edwards, Ryan ten Doeschate, Timm van der Gugten, Roelof van der Merwe, Brandon Glover, Fred Klaassen, Logan van Beek, Stephan Myburgh
Namibia: Gerhard Erasmus (c), Stephen Baard, Karl Birkenstock. Michau du Preez, Jan Frylinck, Zane Green, Nicol Lofie-Eaton, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo, JJ Smit, Ruben Trumpelmann, Michael van Lingen, David Wiese, Craig Williams, Picky Ya France
Netherlands: Max O'Dowd, Ben Cooper, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Ryan ten Doeschate, Scott Edwards, Roelof van der Merwe, Pieter Seelaar, Logan van Beek, Fred Klaassen, Brandon Glover
Namibia: Stephan baard, Zane Green, Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus, David Wiese, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Rube Trumpelmann, Pikky Ya France, Bernard Scholtz
T20 World Cup Hub: News, features, stats, live scores
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