Sri Lanka's fast men greet Namibia with relentless barrage on World Cup return

NICK FRIEND: Sri Lanka might be in the midst of a hideous run of form – this was just their fourth win in 21 matches – but they come armed with a fabulous record in this competition and, more pertinently for Namibia’s batting line-up, pace

Namibia are back on the world stage, 18 years after their only previous World Cup appearance. Sri Lanka were new opponents, and just the second full members – after Ireland – to take on Gerhard Erasmus’ side in the shortest format.

The return journey to this point has not been without its challenges, but its endpoint – a date at the top table – is special and significant. “This kind of thing unites us as a country,” Rudie van Vuuren, the president of the national governing body, told The Cricketer after their qualification two winters ago. “It gives a lot of hope for the players. Secondly, our pipeline now has aspirations because our team is going to the World Cup. If you have a good tournament, it creates opportunities and it creates hope.”

This is a tough school, though; Sri Lanka might be in the midst of a hideous run of form – this was just their fourth win in 21 matches – but they come armed with a fabulous record in this competition and, more pertinently for Namibia’s batting line-up, pace. Not the pace of Lasith Malinga, now retired, but of Lahiru Kumara and Dushmantha Chameera. Even Chamika Karunaratne, slower on the speed gun but carrying a zippy freneticism through the crease at the end of a long run-up, arrives on the batter sooner than they might anticipate.

Zane Green was the principal victim of their barrage: Chameera struck him twice on the helmet, one of which he watched straight onto the middle of his grille. The ball ricocheted into the offside for a single that was belatedly taken once Green had relocated his bearings. The same bowler struck him again – this time at 91.3mph. The next ball was registered quicker still, at 92mph. A baptism of fire, quite literally.

Paul van Meekeren spoke to The Cricketer ahead of this tournament, declaring: “I think we’ve definitely got the strongest pace attack in associate cricket.” That van Meekeren didn’t even make the Dutch line-up for their implosion against Ireland on Monday morning was decent evidence to support that claim.

But the point stands that this kind of pace isn’t the norm on the associate ladder: this year, Namibia have played T20Is against Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Scotland and Papua New Guinea.

^{Zane Green has his helmet checked by the umpires after being struck by Dushmantha Chameera}

And though much of the talk from the Sri Lankan camp ahead of this competition was of their spinners – Wanindu Hasaranga is the second-ranked bowler in the world, by the ICC’s T20I rankings, and Maheesh Theekshana has been touted as the country’s latest unpickable commodity – it was their seamers whose aggression set the tone for Mickey Arthur’s group favourites, rarely erring full and allowing their targets onto the front foot unless nailing their yorkers.

Ruben Trumpelmann, with serious pace of his own, came in at No.9 and faced three balls, two of them from Chameera, who greeted him with a pair of bouncers. JJ Smit, an allrounder of plentiful ability, top-edged his third delivery over short fine leg. It was a relentless approach, sealed by a 90mph yorker from Kumara that careered into the stumps of Helao Ya France, Namibia’s No.10.

With Mahela Jayawardene on the sidelines – a serial winner both as player and now as a highly regarded coach on the franchise circuit – they deserve plenty of credit for the way in which they dismantled a Namibian team with plenty of talent, even if it was summarily repressed on this occasion.

No team has a higher win percentage in T20 World Cups than Sri Lanka, who have reached three finals and won the tournament in 2014. According to CricViz, they had bowled more balls above the 140kph mark by the end of the seventh over than the combined efforts of every other team so far.

Namibia fought admirably, dropping the ball for quick singles wherever possible – not the worst strategy against an onslaught of short bowling to be at the non-striker’s end. They were made to work for their 96 runs, hitting just three fours and two sixes in 19.3 overs. The addition of David Wiese, the former South Africa allrounder, couldn’t soften that struggle; he was pinned on the crease by a fine piece of bowling from Karunaratne in the middle of a collapse that saw eight wickets tumble in 7.1 overs.

Theekshana was a fascinating watch: the 21-year-old is in the adolescent phase of his international career, the same period through which Ajantha Mendis was so especially mesmerising. There are evident similarities between the pair – not least their run-ups and unorthodoxy in flicking the ball out of the front of the hand. Craig Williams, facing him in a cap, swept away one six but otherwise was tortured by his skiddy accuracy.

The chase was a foregone conclusion, though Namibia made a fist of wrestling back whatever pre-tournament momentum they might have lost in a dispiriting first half by taking three early wickets in response. They are far from out of contention for qualification and they are much better than what they showed on this big day, when Sri Lanka’s fast bowlers came to the party.