Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus. (Photo/TimesofIndia.com) NEW DELHI: In less than 24 hours, three affiliated teams came close to creating an upset in the ongoing T20 World Cup. The Netherlands, USA and Nepal all came close to victory before slipping away due to dropped catches and individual brilliance from the match’s leading superstars.Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus says it’s high time the labels ‘Associate’ and ‘minnows’ were removed from the language of cricket’s smaller nations.
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“Teams shouldn’t label themselves like that,” he said on Sunday after Namibia’s first training session in the capital.“You shouldn’t limit yourself with labels. They are all human, they play with the same white ball. We have enough evidence to back us up. We beat Sri Lanka, a proper Sri Lankan team, in the 2022 T20 World Cup, who have just won the Asia Cup, in good conditions in Australia. That was not a coincidence. We had a positive record against Ireland and Zimbabwe. So I don’t believe it,” he adds.The 30-year-old, who will lead his country to a fourth consecutive T20 World Cup, is looking to give the likes of Namibia, Netherlands, USA and Nepal more exposure.“A lot of games are decided by small moments like one catch. The skill levels are very close. More exposure through games like this will help level the playing field. If teams around the world get that exposure, the global game will be stronger and that will benefit everyone,” says Erasmus.Namibia has an estimated population of around three million and will face India in Delhi in a few days. The Namibians will return to test the defending champions after the showdown that the USA put on at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday night.“We have nothing to lose when we play India. You can go out and enjoy it because these teams are the best in the world for a reason. They are world champions for a reason. It’s about enjoying the moment and appreciating that you’ve earned the right to play against them,” he says.“If you approach it positively, you often get the best results.”
Limited exposure
Representing in the fourth T20 World Cup in a row is proof that cricket in Namibia is on the right track.They made history last October by beating their neighbors South Africa for the first time in any international format.Still, Erasmus agrees that Namibia’s biggest hurdle in international cricket remains limited exposure, limited resources and occasional matches against top teams.“I think it becomes difficult at some level because you can’t play the big teams very often. Because of that, the exposure is limited and every two years when you go back to the World Cup it’s like a big step up. That’s the hardest thing to recreate,” he says.“We’re trying to play against teams like Zimbabwe and some of the South African franchise sides in between to maintain that level of cricket. In that sense, it’s actually a remarkable story that we can still come and compete with some of the top nations. We’ve beaten Sri Lanka and the Proteas, as well as Zimbabwe and Ireland. Those are the Test nations.”“So I think it’s a great story for us, given our limited exposure and resources, that we’ve achieved this. It’s mainly because of the hard work of the players’ group, the backroom staff and the people who invest in cricket,” he says.
Cricket culture in Namibia
Erasmus says that although there is no first-class structure in Namibia and there are only four clubs that play in the top division in men’s cricket, the game is still growing in the country.“A lot more people are watching cricket these days. In a sense, we’ve overtaken rugby, which is a big sport culturally in South Africa and Namibia. Football is still the most watched sport, so in terms of numbers, we’re probably not there yet.”“But the brand we’ve created with Namibia, the fact that people see us on streaming platforms and on TV every two years on the world stage has created a real expectation of cricket. Getting South Africa to play in the winter was a huge thing. For example, our opener was sold out.“Indian investors, streaming deals and all that creates a brand around the game. It creates a great stadium and good vibes with music and live entertainment in the venue. I think the growth over the last five years has been phenomenal,” he says.But he feels that it will take a lot to improve the local structure in Namibia.“The basic structure is mainly school cricket, followed by the Namibian age-group teams: under-13, under-15 and under-19. In the last three or four years, we have tried to establish an academy and a high-performance setup. This has also been difficult because it is difficult to get incoming tours or going out,” says another step, which is very problematic due to financial constraints.When asked if there was any drive to play more red-ball cricket in Namibia, the skipper was candid. “The structure of the ICC has changed. In the past we used to play four-day cricket through the Intercontinental Cup, but that structure was removed about 10 or 12 years ago.”“Now we are not motivated to play red-ball cricket as it is not part of the qualifying routes. Investing in red-ball cricket also does not make financial sense for us,” he adds.Namibia is in Group A alongside India, Pakistan, the Netherlands and the USA. They will take on the Netherlands at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.
