ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019, 2nd play-off: Namibia v Oman – Preview, likely XIs, prediction

Oman will be kicking themselves. Heading into the final day of the league matches of the Qualifier, they had the most clear-cut chance of winning automatic qualification to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia. They needed a win against Jersey, and they would have gone through. However, Jersey put in a stellar display to steal a 14-run win, and Oman now have to go through the play-offs.

The result meant they finished second in the group on net run-rate – Ireland qualified top – and will now have to take on a dangerous Namibia side in their bid to qualify. Despite that, they’ll be confident. Oman have, for the most part, looked a supreme side in the tournament, with Jatinder Singh holding up the batting front at the top, and wickets from the likes of Aamir Kaleem and Khawar Ali.

They’ve now got the slip-up out of the system too. The time is now for Oman to put in one comprehensive team display, and usually when they do that, they win.

Namibia, however, will be no pushovers. Having lost their first two matches, Namibia won four in a row to finish at No.3 in Group A, with strong performances from throughout their team. There is plenty of verve and spirit in the side, and that could prove dangerous for Oman.

They finished their league campaign with 87-run victories against Singapore and Kenya – neither side pushovers – and are buoyed to make this tournament a memorable one in the first play-off.

This should be a cracker.

Head to head

In International cricket, Oman and Namibia have only ever clashed once before, in Windhoek earlier this year. Namibia won that match by 145 runs.

Key players

Jatinder Singh (Oman): The dashing opener is a fine player, adept at scoring on both sides of the field, and capable of being innovative when needed. In that manner, he has scored 193 runs in six matches so far in the tournament, and at a decent strike-rate of over 138 as well. Namibia will have taken note of him.

Jan Frylinck (Namibia): Frylinck’s wickets, with his left-arm pace, has been key for Namibia this tournament. He has 14 scalps in six matches, at a fine average of 9.50 and an economy of 6.33. He’s supremely dangerous, as many sides in the tournament can vouch for, and Oman will need to have their wits about them.

Likely XIs

Oman: Jatinder Singh, Khawar Ali, Aaqib Ilyas, Aamir Kaleem, Zeeshan Maqsood (c), Suraj Kumar (wk), Sandeep Goud, Khurram Nawaz, Kaleemullah, Mohammad Nadeem, Bilal Khan

Namibia: Stephan Baard, Nikolaas Davin, JP Kotze, Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus (c), JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Zane Green, Christi Viljoen, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo

Prediction

This is a tough one to call. Oman to snatch it by a small margin.