Namibia all set for a brief but bustling southern African truel

The outer perimeter of the walls of the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek is planted with, among other things, and of all things, lavender. In a country where harshness is all around, and in a game in which grass is the only foliage that matters, that is a beautiful thing.

As is the fact that one of the world game’s newest, most attractive and well-appointed grounds is ready for its close-up. The men’s teams of Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe will play a T20I series there from Friday until September 6.

Seventeen completed men’s white-ball internationals, as many women’s T20Is and eight men’s under-19 ODIs have been played there from March last year, but this will be the ground’s most important engagement to date.

It’s the first time the NGC will host two ICC Full Member teams, but not the first time one of them have been there. South Africa took on the home side in a T20I in Windhoek in October last year — and the locals are still toasting the Eagles’ famous last-ball win, by four wickets, in their inaugural meeting, in any format, with their eastern neighbours.

Not that Namibians need an excuse to raise a beer or five. The same goes for South Africans and Zimbabweans. More than a few cases of the stuff will likely go down many throats over the course of the next 10 days, regardless of who wins or loses. So much so that the series might have been better titled the Thirsty Cup.

It is highly unlikely anyone involved will end up in police handcuffs outside a bar, like Brydon Carse did in Derby on Saturday night; the latest entry on English cricket’s lengthening rap sheet of after-hours ignominy.

Asked on the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme on Thursday whether the current England team have a drinking problem, former captain David Gower — no party-pooper during his playing days — had a pithy answer: “I don’t think the side does. I think the odd individual does, and in this case I think it’s largely a stupidity problem.”

Happily, southern Africans of various stripes tend to be intelligent enough to know how to have fun, with or without alcohol, and go home unhandcuffed and more or less in one piece.

They’re also decent cricketers. As Gerhard Erasmus makes plain below, the T20 format narrows the gap between bigger and smaller teams. Indeed, no South Africans who watched the Namibians triumph last October thought they were lucky to win. They earned their success properly. Also below, Bjorn Fortuin, who played in that match, said as much in Thursday’s captains press conference.

The tournament is brief and busy. Only three days will be without matches, and each team will face the challenge of playing two games on consecutive days. The concentration of action might help crystalise the idea of a southern African way of cricket: bristling pace, daggerish fielding, flinty batting and a stubborn refusal to submit to what might look like impending defeat.

That the South Africans have sent an experimental squad, in contrast to their opponents’ first-choice sides, only adds to the jeopardy. No-one would begrudge a non-South Africa winner. Just as no-one, surely, dislikes the scent of lavender.

When:Friday, August 28, 2026 to Sunday, September 6, 2026, 2pm local/2pm SA and Zim time/5.30pm IST

Where: Namibia Cricket Ground, Windhoek

What to expect: Sunshine and temperatures in the mid to upper 20s Celsius. Totals of 200 or more have been reached only thrice — with two centuries and eight 50s — in the 13 men’s T20Is played at this ground. So there is something for the bowlers, who have claimed six four-wicket hauls here. Four of them have been taken by seamers.

Team news:

Namibia: Justin Kemp will be in the home side’s dugout as assistant coach. Michael van Lingen, who last played a T20I in the format’s 2024 World Cup, has come out of retirement.

Possible XI: Jan-Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Junior Taanyanda, Gerhard Erasmus (capt), Alex Busing-Volschenk, Zane Green, JC Balt, Jan Frylinck, Max Heingo, Bernard Scholtz, Waldo Smith, Jack Brassell.

South Africa: Jason Smith has been ruled out of the series with an inner thigh strain. Eathan Bosch is uncapped in the format, and Duan Jansen in any format.

Possible XI: Tony de Zorzi, Lhuan-dré Pretorius, Connor Esterhuizen, Dewald Brevis, Rubin Hermann, Prenelan Subrayen, Duan Jansen, Bjorn Fortuin (capt), Kwena Maphaka, Lutho Sipamla, Nqobani Mokoena.

Zimbabwe: Graeme Cremer’s return from an arm injury that has sidelined him for more than 17 months doesn’t take the edge off Richard Ngarava missing out because of a lower back problem. Brendon Taylor has been dropped.

Possible XI: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (capt), Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brad Evans, Newman Nyamhuri, Graeme Cremer, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani.

What they said:

“It’s a question we always get in the associate world: how do you bridge the gap to the next level?By beating teams at the next level. The T20 format gives you the ability to impact the game. If you have two star performers on the day you could swing the result your way.” — Gerhard Erasmus makes the case for teams like his.

“It wasn’t a fun experience.I don’t think there are scars or underlying issues from that result. The reality was we got beaten by the better team on the day.” — Bjorn Fortuin remembers what happened when Namibia and South clashed last year.

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