Late fireworks from Glenn Phillips and Jimmy Neesham propelled New Zealand to 163/4 in the T20 World Cup 2021 encounter against Namibia.
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Glenn Phillips and James Neesham made their presence felt with fine performances down the order, to help New Zealand post a total of 163/4 against Namibia in the T20 World Cup 2021 encounter between the two teams. Phillips smashed 39 runs from 21 deliveries in an innings comprising of a boundary and three sixes. Neesham accumulated 35 runs off 23 balls with the knock including a four and two maximums. Skipper Kane Williamson was the other significant performer, scoring 28 runs from 25 deliveries with the knock comprising of two boundaries and a six.
Bernard Scholtz, David Wiese and Gerhard Erasmus made their presence felt with a dismissal apiece.
“Not too bad. It held up a bit for the spinners. Erasmus also bowled well in the middle. You never know, you have to get off to a good start. They got a bit of momentum towards the back, hopefully if we can start well then we can catch up towards the end. Sticking to a good line and length and it is difficult to get it away,” said Scholtz.
Erasmus opted to field after winning the toss, considering the fact that it is tough to defend in matches played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah.
“We will bowl first. The pitch looks very good, also we see small dimensions on this field and it is tough to defend. Also not really sure how it is going to play, so put them in first and hopefully we will be able to chase down later. It has been tough but I have got used to playing through it (injury). We have two more to go and then I will try to fix it (his finger) later. It has been a good tournament so far, lot of good memories and would want to go one better today. Two forced changes for us,” he stated as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Williamson stated that his players would look to build some partnerships early on.
“Looks a typical Sharjah surface. Important we build some partnerships early on, get that platform and put runs on the board. Have had few niggles but so far so good. Lockie is also recovering well but it is all part and parcel of the game. The guys are going alright. We have got the same team,” he said.
VVS Laxman had predicted a low, slow wicket in his pitch report.
“This is the third match which is going to be played on this surface. Both the matches have been high scoring. It is going to be a low, slow wicket and it is going to be different as it is an afternoon game. I feel the spinners will have more influence and also the ball will stop and come onto the bat, it won’t be easy for the batters,” he said.
Lineups:
New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson(c), Devon Conway(w), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult.
Namibia (Playing XI): Stephan Baard, Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus(c), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Zane Green(w), Michael van Lingen, Karl Birkenstock, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz.
