Netherlands, Namibia battle for survival as Sri Lanka and Ireland look to progress

Labeled the ‘Group of Death’ of the first round, it has to be said that the first iteration of Group A matches, on Monday, disappointed. Both Ireland and Sri Lanka did not break a sweat en-route dominant victories, and the actual contest on the field was a far cry from what was expected. 

But what it has done is make the contests on Wednesday all the spicier. 

Both Namibia and Netherlands will be on red alert, fully aware that anything less than perfection henceforth will result in elimination, while Ireland and Sri Lanka will be setting out with the aim of giving everything, knowing that they could virtually seal qualification without having to go through the anxiety that the final day usually brings. 

Mind you, the last round of fixtures in this group will be played in Sharjah, thus Wednesday will, in all fairness, be the final opportunity for all four teams to smartly utilize the knowledge they would have gained about the conditions.

Namibia and Netherlands lock horns in must-win encounter 

It is bad enough to kick-start a World Cup campaign with a loss, especially in a four-team group, but it is the stuff of nightmares to begin a competition the way Namibia and Netherlands have done. The two sides were bundled out for scores that roughly rounds up to 100, and they also witnessed their opponents chase the target down with 30+ balls to spare. What it has essentially done is turn their H2H clash on Wednesday into a must-win contest; the loser all but goes home. 

Funnily enough, both Netherlands and Namibia encountered similar problems. With the bat the two sides suffered fatal collapses - Netherlands from 51-2 to 106 all out, Namibia from 68-2 to 96 all out - while with the ball, despite striking early, they were not able to maintain pressure. And both sides had one top-order batter - Max O’Dowd for Netherlands and Craig Williams for Namibia - who looked the part.

Come Wednesday, therefore, it could be said that the team that rights its wrongs will emerge victorious.

Undoubtedly, the pressure will be on the Dutch. Not only are they a more experienced and more established side, but they also headed into this World Cup as a team that many backed to top the group. This added burden could hence end up working in favor of Namibia who, despite being a dangerous unit, were not fancied by many. For the Southwest African side, Wednesday’s contest is in many ways a free hit. 

But historically, pressure has tended to bring the best out of the Netherlands, and having been in this situation many a time in the past (and emerged successful), the Pieter Seelaar-led side would back themselves to get the job done. 

Players to watch out for

Netherlands 

Max O’Dowd played a supreme knock in vain against Ireland, and he would be aiming to keep his good run going, having registered three 35+ scores across his last four innings.

Brandon Glover caused troubles for the Irish batters during his short spell, and his tendency to bang the ball into the wicket could hurt Namibia, who struggled to deal with bumpers bowled by the Sri Lankan bowlers.

Namibia

Left-arm seamers Ruben Trumpelmann and JJ Smit asked plenty of questions of the Sri Lankan batters, and they could prove to be a handful against the Dutch. 8 of Netherlands’ 10 wickets against Ireland fell to the pacers.

Skipper Gerhard Erasmus looked good in his 19-ball stay on Monday, and Namibia would be banking on him to do some damage. A batsman who strikes at nearly 140 in T20Is, Erasmus could take down the Netherlands’ attack on his own if he gets going. 

Sri Lanka aim to join the big boys with a win

That Sri Lanka, heading into the World Cup, were not even fancied by a few to make it to the Super 12 should exactly tell you how much their stocks have fallen, but on Monday they played like a team that belongs with the big boys. They did stutter with the bat, yes, but the players exuded confidence and played with the kind of oomph you’d expect from a top team. 

Aggression overflowed in their bowling, and with the bat they did not panic despite losing as many as three early wickets. Namibia is the kind of team you would expect Sri Lanka to beat all day long, but the authority with which the Lankans won bodes well for the rest of the tournament.

But make no mistake, on Wednesday they will be coming up against a far, far tougher opponent in the form of Ireland. That the Irish might be ranked outside the Top 10 in the ICC rankings, but against Netherlands they played like a top-five side that meant business. 

They were zoned-in from the get go, and did not take the foot off the pedal till the job was done. An all-round bowling performance was complimented by a clinical batting showing which saw the aggressive Paul Stirling turn into an unrecognizable anchor to suit the team’s needs. 

Should they be anywhere as expressive as they were on Monday, then the Andrew Balbirnie-led side could very well walk away with two points against the Lankans.

Both the sides sitting on two points with a mighty-impressive NRR means that a win on Wednesday might not only guarantee qualification but even seal a top-of-the-table finish. But despite the stakes being equal, it will be Sri Lanka who will be the side more desperate to get the win, for they have a tricky final day contest against the Netherlands in Sharjah.

Ireland would no doubt be hoping to seal qualification as early as possible, but they will know that, even if they lose against the Lankans, they have a winnable third game against Namibia, the weakest side in the group.

Players to watch out for 

Sri Lanka

Maheesh Theekshana bamboozled Namibia with his variations, and there is a good chance he might also trouble the Irish batters, who will not be accustomed to facing mystery spin. Dasun Shanaka would be banking on the youngster to get him at least a couple of key wickets.

Avishka Fernando has started batting at No.4, and the move has been a game-changer for both him and the side. 30*, 61, 62*, 33, 83* read his last five scores, and he would once again be hoping to leave a mark.

Ireland

Josh Little and Mark Adair returned combined figures of 8-0-23-4 against Netherlands, and the duo will be key for Ireland on Wednesday. The Sri Lankan top-order struggled against the Namibian seamers, and Ireland will go a long way in the game by jolting the Lankans early. The left-arm seam of Little, in particular, could prove to be a menace.

With scores of 88* and 44 in his last two matches, young Gareth Delany is in supreme form. Someone who has the ability to start rapidly in the middle-overs, Delany will be key in Ireland’s quest to tackling the Sri Lankan spinners.