Online Reporter
Blessing Malinganiza
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE T20 Tri-Series featuring hosts Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa end of this month is historic in many ways.
And Cricket Namibia chief executive Johan Muller believes hosting Zimbabwe and South Africa represents another significant step for the game in that country.
For Zimbabwe, it is another opportunity to test themselves against another strong opposition in SA while also strengthening ties with another World Cup host Namibia.
The Chevrons will be returning to international white-ball action after suffering a whitewash against India recently.
The tournament will run from August 28 to September 6 at the FNB Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek, with the three African sides playing each other twice before the top two meet in the final.
Zimbabwe open their campaign against South Africa on August 29 before taking on the FNB Eagles on August 31.
They will face the Proteas for a second time on September 1 before completing their round-robin programme against Namibia on September 3.
The series starts with Namibia against South Africa on August 28, while the two sides meet again in the final round-robin match on September 4.
Cricket Namibia chief executive Johan Muller said: “It is not often that you get the privilege of hosting some of the best cricketing countries in the world.
“We had the opportunity to host a once-off game last year, and that has now led to this exciting tri-series involving Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.”
Namibia stunned South Africa by four wickets in their first-ever international meeting in October last year, winning a T20I at the newly opened FNB Namibia Cricket Ground.
The upcoming tournament will therefore reunite the neighbours while also bringing Zimbabwe into the equation.
Muller said the presence of the Proteas and Chevrons would give Namibia another opportunity to stage high-level international cricket.
“We are looking forward to playing against South Africa and Zimbabwe, who we all know are among the leading cricketing nations,” he said.
“I specifically want to thank the FNB Group for their continued support.
“We now have the FNB Namibia Cricket Ground, the FNB Eagles and the FNB T20 Tri-Series, which is fantastic.
“We are extremely grateful for FNB Namibia’s continued support of cricket and our organisation, and particularly for helping us bring top-level cricket closer to the fans and the Namibian public.”
After the T20 tri-series, Zimbabwe will leave Namibia while the hosts and South Africa remain for a three-match ODI series scheduled for September 9, 11 and 13.
