Former South African Player David Wiese To Play For Namibia In T20 World Cup 2021

Former South-African cricketer David Wiese has been confirmed to be representing Namibia in the upcoming 2021 T20 World Cup. The news was confirmed by the country’s national coach, Pierre de Bruyn, in an interview recently.

Wiese went out of favor with the national side after a string of poor performances back in 2016. He has played franchise cricket since, having also briefly played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.

Having played in 20 T20I’s for the Proteas, Wiese has made 92 runs at a poor average of 13.14 and a high score of 28. On the bowling front, his numbers are a bit better. The 36-year-old has picked up 24 wickets at a decent average of 20.71 and an even better economy of 7.61.

Wiese is eligible to play for Namibia as his father was born there. With his inclusion in the side, Namibia has a balanced line-up and can also strengthen its lower-order batting. Wiese can bring his experience into play during high-pressure situations that will come up like in the World Cup.

“I’m super excited about that” – Pierre de Bruyn on David Wiese’s participation

The coach Pierre de Bruyn was visibly excited to have the South African all-rounder in his team. Wiese, who has played as many as 255 T20 games across different leagues, is currently playing in the UK but will likely join the team very soon.

“David’s dad was born here, so he’s eligible to play for Namibia. He’s playing in the T20 Blast in England, but will join us after that and is also available going forward after the World Cup, so I’m super excited about that.”

“His team, Sussex, are in the quarterfinals so we must see how far he gets there, but I hope he will be able to join for the Free State trip at least,” de Bruyn said.

Namibia will shortly take on the Zimbabwe Emerging team in a full-fledged white-ball series comprising of three T20I’s and as many ODI’s. The squad for the same has been announced.

Namibia squad: Gerhard Erasmus (c), Zane Green, Stephen Baard, Craig Williams, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Michiel du Preez, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Karl Birkenstock, Ruben Trumpelmann, Pikky Ya France, Bernard Scholtz, Mauritius Ngupita, Ben Shikongo, Dewald Nell, Michael van Lingen, and Shawn Fouche.

Also Read – VVS Laxman Views On The Importance Of Proper Usage Of Reviews Amid Virat Kohli’s Poor DRS Calls