NEWS
Follow UsDavid Wiese has been a big player for Namibia ever since he began his journey with the African nation in 2021. Wiese was the highest run-scorer for Namibia in the 2021 T20 World Cup with 227 runs and the second-highest wicket-taker, taking six wickets at an economy of 7.4. In a shorter stint for Namibia in the 2022 edition, he was their second-highest run-scorer (66) and the second-highest wicket-taker (3) in three matches.
Playing his third T20 World Cup in Namibia’s colors and his third overall, Wiese is off to another efficient start. The 39-year-old picked 3/28 in Namibia’s win over Oman in Match 3 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and also scored nine runs with the bat. However, he made bigger contributions in the Super Over.
Wiese scored 13 off four balls in the Super Over, taking Namibia to 21. With the ball, he restricted Oman to the score of 10, thus completing a thrilling win for Namibia to start their campaign. Wiese attributed this performance to playing in franchise tournaments around the world.
“Definitely playing in the franchise tournaments, playing against some of the best players in the world, and playing the best tournaments in the world, that has helped me learn and develop into how to play in certain situations,” he said in the post-match presser.
“And I've also played a couple of CPL now, so I know the conditions,” Wiese further elaborated on his experience of playing multiple seasons of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
The all-rounder dismissed Oman’s middle-order batter Ayaan Khan alongside nabbing two lower-order batters in his three-for. But with the bat, he had nervy moments to counter. He walked out to bat in the 18th over, with the equation fairly comfortable for Namibia. They needed 14 off 15 balls with six wickets in hand.
However, by the time Wiese took the strike for the last ball of the match, Namibia were still two runs away from their target. Wiese missed a good length ball outside the off stump. But the wicketkeeper Naseem Khushi couldn’t gather the ball cleanly and then missed a throw at the stumps, allowing Namibia to sneak in with a tie.
“I was a bit frustrated and annoyed that I missed out on that last ball. That was the first disappointment there. Then luckily, we scampered a single to go into the Super Over,” Wiese mentioned.
The South Africa-born stated he found his zone in the Super Over. “From there (Super Over), I think I was just in the zone. I wanted to rectify my mistakes. I wanted to go in there and be the guy to put in the big performance. And luckily for me, the team entrusted me with that role.
“I knew with the batting the Super over, if I got one or two early, I could put them under pressure. And then we could try and just take it out of their reach,” Wiese spoke about his plans that clinched the two points for his team.
Did Namibia take Oman lightly in the chase knowing the target was only 110? Weise said a clear no, citing they have played Oman quite often before and are aware of the quality in their bowling.
“We knew that it wasn't going to be an easy target. We've played against Oman before; we know they've got some quality bowlers there.
"In small totals like that it's almost like you just need a good power play, one big partnership and that kills the game and unfortunately for us we didn't get that start that we wanted and then from there we kind of just limped through the middle overs and then left ourselves a little bit of work at the end,” he answered.
Wiese also mentioned the pitch played differently than they expected as it got slower as the game went on, making it tough for his side to score in the middle overs.
“The pitch did play a little bit differently to what we expected, but that's no excuse,” the all-rounder said.
“You remember the days of Kensington (Barbados) having a little bit of bounce and pace and when we got there today it looked like a good pitch.
“But obviously it got a little bit slower, it's got a little bit lower also and it wasn't the easiest wicket to start on. I think once you spent a bit of time out there, then it got a little bit easier. That showed that once you got wickets, you got wickets in clusters the whole time. And that made it difficult for us to stay towards the end just by losing too many wickets,” Wiese assessed.
“Also, all credit to them (Oman). They summed up the conditions well and put us under pressure. It could have gone any way. We got lucky with that last ball there to scamper a single,” he said.
Namibia will play Scotland in their next match on June 7. A day prior, Oman will lock horns with Australia.
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