Namibia out to prove South Africa win was no fluke

A day after their monumental two-wicket win over South Africa, the Namibia Under-19 players appeared a happy lot in Cox's Bazar. During a serious training session, there were plenty of smiles, but Namibia's soft-spoken captain Zane Green said they would reserve celebrations for the end of their World cup campaign and were focused on their final group game, against Bangladesh on Tuesday.

"We will wait for the celebrations after the tournament," Green said. "Right now we are focused on the game tomorrow. We saw yesterday that anything is possible. We believe in ourselves that we can beat any team. We went into the game to win. So I think we worked hard for it and stayed positive.

"The World Cup so far has been very exciting. It is the first time in Namibia cricket history that we made it to the quarter-final. After the game, we received lots of messages from home. During our chase, I think we clapped for every run and ball. We were supporting them from the dressing room. I think we play well as a team; play for one another. I think our team spirit is what takes us through."

Namibia's coach Norbert Manyande said they want to push to be group champions. "Bangladesh is not a favorite in any way. We are ahead in the net run-rate," he said. "They are a Test-playing nation which is why they are favourites. But tomorrow both teams are equal; there's no favourite.

"We will definitely want to finish as group champions. We know what's awaiting us. We didn't play against this Bangladesh team but we played against them in 2014 World Cup. We are quite confident, having won the first two matches in this tournament. Bangladesh are obviously used to the conditions but if we play the same way, I don't see why we can't win.

"We want to prove that yesterday's win wasn't a fluke. We want to go as far as possible in this tournament. We knew that we could surprise a few teams, and we have shown it."

It is not a surprise that team unity is Namibia's strength. They have played together from the Under-13 level. Namibia's manager Andre Schmidlin displayed a photo of Niko Davin holding a bat and ball in front of his house, possibly at the age of three. Knowing what the photo was of, Davin shyly walked away to his team-mates, who were enjoying a mid-morning snack at the end of their practice session.

Davin's attraction to cricket began at an early age and he prefers playing cricket despite representing Namibia's rugby teams at the U-16 and U-18 levels. He is a scrum half in rugby, but opened the batting and bowled legspin against South Africa.

"I started rugby at the age of seven. I got into U-16 and U-18 Namibia team. I also play sevens for Namibia. Last year I broke my ankle playing rugby so I will probably choose cricket. Rugby is more popular in our country but I will choose cricket, it has more exposure. I love cricket more."

Another player who plays rugby as an inside centre is Chrischen Olivier, taller than Davin. He, however, is not sure whether his future is in cricket or rugby. "I like both sports the same. I have to choose, I am not sure yet," he said. "In the winter is rugby, in summer it is cricket. So lucky the seasons don't clash."

But as Davin said, they call each other "brothers", and having achieved their maiden quarter-final place in the Under-19 World Cup, perhaps Olivier will choose cricket.