Namibia: Confirmation of national team's inclusion in South Africa's Standard Bank League 2002-03

The best six months in the history of cricket in Namibia has been capped by confirmation the Namibian national team will play in South Africa's main domestic one day competition, the Standard Bank League, next season.

Namibia play as many as 10 games in the 45 over a side floodlit league against South African provincial opposition, in a major boost to their World Cup build-up.

At this stage their inclusion in the Standard Bank League is for one season only, although news that Namibia will not compete in the South African UCB Bowl three-day and one-day competitions in 2002-2003 has heightened speculation it could be a longer term arrangement.

"Including us makes it a 12 team competition and It is the same distance from Jo'burg to Cape Town as it is from Jo'b urg to Windhoek (the Namibian capital) so cost-wise there is no problem either," a Namibian Cricket Board official told 'Beyond The Test World'.

All of Namibia's matches will be played during October, November and December in a truncated South African domestic programme shortened by grounds becoming unavailable in February as they are prepared for the 2003 World Cup.

It is unclear whether Namibia will stage any home games - its main ground, the Wanderers, cannot stage floodlit matches.

What doesn't require clarification is who on the field of play should be the next team into the Standard Bank League - well, by this season's standards anyway.

Namibia leads the UCB Bowl three day league and is just behind Boland with one match to play in the UCB Bowl one day league (it plays Boland at home later this month).

It snared first place in the three day league with an emphatic seven wicket win over a youthful Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland team in Petermaritzburg.

The pace attack of Rudi van Vuurden (15-4-48-4) and Rudi Scholtz (9.2-1-33-5) broke the Kwa Zulu-Natal Inland batting line-up taking nine wickets between them.

However, Namibia could not overtake the total, with Melt van Schoor (48) and Louie Berger (29) top scoring as the ICC Trophy finalists were removed for 171 all-out.

Pace had instigated Kwa Zulu-Natal Inland's demise in its first innings, and it was a key ingredient in the second, as quickie Bjorn Kotze took 5-32 from 14 overs to cripple Kwa Zulu-Natal Inland for 92 all out.

Kotze's brother, off-spinner Deon, joined in, taking 3-23 from 6.2 overs.

Opener Riaan Walters ensured Namibian victory with an unbeaten 51, guiding Namibia to 97-3 and a seven wicket win.

The result in the one day match was just as clear cut, with Namibia compiling a formidable 234-8 from its 45 overs before skittling Kwa Zulu-Natal Inland again for 92.

Danie Keulder (66), including five boundaries, and Gavin Murgatroyd (67 not out - six fours) were the keys in an innings which consisted of a series of medium sized partnerships.Walters and Keulder had consolidated the top of the order before Murgatroyd scored an unbeaten 61 to guide the tail to the final total.

The transformation of cricket in Namibia to a 12-month-a-year affair was cemented with news an indoor facility will be built in Windhoek in time for the Emerging Nations tournament in April.

The facility will be crucial in the long term as the short daylight period during the Namibian winter has limited the off-season work of the Namibian national team.

The next three day match against Boland starts in Windhoek on January 17.