Key events
15th over: Namibia 60-8 (Erasmus 27, Brassell 1) It took Erasmus 17 deliveries to score his first run but he has now added 26 from 20 since then. A boundary comes from a rare misfield by Australia as Hazlewood misreads the ball at fine leg. Erasmus deserves all the credit for the four off the last ball of Ellis’s over, deftly guiding it to third man.
14th over: Namibia 51-8 (Erasmus 19, Brassell 0) The Namibia skipper is putting the foot down now as he risks running out of partners before they reach 20 overs. A neat dab through cover picks up a couple, but the shot of the over goes beyond extra cover and drops just inside the rope for four. Hazlewood is done now as well, finishing with two for 18.
13th over: Namibia 43-8 (Erasmus 10, Brassell 0) Zampa finishes with four for 12 from his allotted overs, giving up a few runs as Trumpelmann lets loose but also claiming two more wickets. The Australia leg-spinner truly is at the top of his game and looms as their key weapon for the remainder of this tournament.
WICKET! Namibia 43-8 (Scholtz b Zampa 0)
Zampa wraps up a mouth-watering spell with a cracker. His wrong un’ pitches outside off and Scholtz swings wildly without reading the turn as the ball jags back into the off-stump.
That takes Zampa to 100 T20I wickets as he becomes the first Australian men’s bowler to reach the landmark.
WICKET! Namibia 43-7 (Trumpelmann c Maxwell b Zampa 7)
Trumpelmann thwacks Zampa for the first six of the innings over mid wicket but is out next ball trying much the same shot. The second pull shot lands safely in Maxwell’s hands and Zampa has his third.
12th over: Namibia 36-6 (Erasmus 10, Trumpelmann 1) Erasmus has played a composed knock so far but seems to finally be keen to move the score along. The skipper finds two outside off although he was fortunate the ball landed just wide of Marsh at mid off. Another skied shot drops safely for a single off Ellis.
11th over: Namibia 33-6 (Erasmus 7, Trumpelmann 1) Zampa can trouble the best batters in the world and he is making light work of the Namibia middle order. He picks up the wicket of Wiese with a wrong ‘un, then shows off his variety with a flat and straight delivery to the new batter Ruben Trumpelmann, followed by one given plenty of flight to Erasmus. The leg-spinner is in his groove and has two for five with one over to come.
WICKET! Namibia 31-6 (Wiese c Hazlewood b Zampa 1)
Wiese steps back and tries to smack the ball down the ground but it stays low and he gets a bottom edge. Hazlewood has some ground to cover in the outfield but takes a fine sliding catch at deep mid wicket.
10th over: Namibia 27-5 (Erasmus 6, Wiese 1) Cummins returns to the attack in the last over before drinks. Erasmus plays perhaps the best shot of the innings, as he steps back and whacks the Australia quick between mid off and cover for a boundary – just the third of the innings. Cummins goes to work on the line targeting middle and off stump but Erasmus and then Weise survive.
Namibia’s 27 is the second lowest score after 10 overs in a men’s T20 World Cup match.
9th over: Namibia 21-5 (Erasmus 1, Wiese 0) Zampa shows all the skills of the white-ball specialist that he is, first with a close call with Erasmus that Australia send upstairs for a review that shows the ball hit him outside the line. The Namibia skipper picks up his first run with a single after facing 17 balls, but that allows Zampa to strike to dismiss Green with a flat delivery that hardly moved.
WICKET! Namibia 21-5 (Green lbw b Zampa 1)
Adam Zampa traps Zane Green in front with a flatter delivery that the Namibia batter missed with a sweep. There was little question around that one as he carries through to the back leg, and the umpire raises the finger straight away.
8th over: Namibia 19-4 (Erasmus 0, Green 0) A fired up Nathan Ellis has joined the fun with a splendid start to the over that had Smit in trouble straight away. Zane Green is next in and finds a leg bye but Namibia are struggling to score let alone hold their wickets.
WICKET! Namibia 18-4 (Smit lbw b Ellis 3)
Nathan Ellis strikes in his first over the tournament and it is a cracking delivery that does it. The ball moves back off the seam to tie Smit in knots. The umpire signals not out but Mitch Marsh is the keenest to review, and it is the right call in the end with the replay showing the ball hit Smit high on the back pad but would have taken out the top of leg stump.
7th over: Namibia 18-3 (Erasmus 0, Smit 3) Adam Zampa takes the ball and immediately starts testing the Namibia batters. Smit finds an early single through midwicket and Erasmus cautiously plays out the rest of the over.
6th over: Namibia 17-3 (Erasmus 0, Smit 2) Stoinis is back on for the last over of the powerplay as Namibia are more focused on survival than fast scoring now. A rush of blood off the last delivery ends with a swing and a miss from Erasmus. That was close and a bit unnecessary from the skipper in this scenario.
5th over: Namibia 16-3 (Erasmus 0, Smit 1) Hazlewood’s consistently testing line and length has Namibia in all sorts. Bounce has been the pacer’s key weapon rather than finding much movement, but he almost finds a way through Smit’s defence with the last ball of the over as it nips back off the seam. A fantastic over and Hazlewood has two for 10 with one more to come.
WICKET! Namibia 15-3 (van Lingen c Maxwell, b Hazlewood 10)
Hazlewood and Maxwell combine again, this time to dismiss Michael van Lingen as Namibia are on the brink of collapse. The Australia pacer works his line outside off and van Lingen can’t help but dab at one that finds extra bounce and carries to Maxwell at backward point.
4th over: Namibia 15-2 (van Lingen 10, Erasmus 0) A wicket maiden for Cummins as Australia have Namibia on the ropes early.
WICKET! Namibia 15-2 (Frylinck c Marsh, b Cummins 1)
It doesn’t take long for Pat Cummins to strike as Frylinck looks to hit over the infield but finds Mitch Marsh standing at mid off. The Australia takes a low but comfortable catch.
3rd over: Namibia 14-1 (van Lingen 10, Frylinck 1) Hazlewood gets the breakthrough after beating Davin’s bat a couple of times. Jan Frylinck joins Van Lingen at the crease after making 45 against Oman and 12 in the defeat to Scotland.
WICKET! Namibia 14-1 (Davin c Maxwell, b Hazlewood 2)
The Namibia opener has been trying to give himself room but Hazlewood follows him. Davin’s cramped back-footed drive takes an edge and flies to Glenn Maxwell in the gully for a simple catch. There was a bit of extra bounce on that one.
2nd over: Namibia 13-0 (van Lingen 9, Davin 2) Marcus Stoinis is handed the new ball and immediately finds some movement, though it’s a surprise that Pat Cummins wasn’t called for. Davin tries to whack a flat batted shot back over Stoinis’ head but miscues and is fortunate that the ball falls safely for a single. Van Lingen punches an exquisite straight drive past Stoinis for another boundary, as Australia let Namibia off the leash early.
1st over: Namibia 7-0 (van Lingen 4, Davin 1) Some fine work from the ground staff means the start was delayed by little more than a minute.
Josh Hazlewood takes the new ball and has Michael van Lingen on the back foot immediately, as the opener joins Nikolaas Davin at the top of the order again. The Australia pacer loses his line and sends an erratic delivery down the legside but keeper Matt Wade gets a glove on it to knock it down and save three runs. A thick edge from the final ball instead picks up the first boundary of the game.
The national anthems are completed and just as we’re about to get started some drizzle starts to fall. It is only light rain at this stage but the covers are out and we’ll have a delay – the players are staying on the field, hopeful that we won’t be pausing for too long.
Teams
Australia XI: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh (c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stonis, Tim David, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
Namibia XI: Michael van Lingen, Nikolaas Davin, Jan Frylinck, Gerhard Erasmus (c), Zane Green (wk), David Wiese, Ruben Trumpelmann, JJ Smit, Bernard Scholtz, Jack Brassell, Ben Shikongo.
Australia have mostly stuck with the XI that dismantled England with some explosive batting, then a spin masterclass from Adam Zampa, with Mitchell Starc rested today and Nathan Ellis coming in for a run.
Catch up on how Australia got the job done against England to put one foot in the Super Eight stage:
We’re about 20 minutes away from play getting under way in Antigua, but a wet outfield is causing a delay in Florida where Nepal and Sri Lanka are trying to get a game in. They might even have to resort to a five-overs-a-side match, which would be unfortunate for the teams but I suspect quite fun to watch.
Australia win the toss and elect to field first
Mitch Marsh calls “heads” and decides that Australia will bowl first.
“It looks like a nice wicket,” Marsh says, in ominous signs for Namibia.
Nathan Ellis in for Mitch Starc is Australia’s only change from the commanding win over England. “He didn’t quite pull up from the last match, so taking the safe approach there,” Marsh says.
Namibia have made three changes, while Gerhard Erasmus says they would have bowled first as well. The Eagles’ captain smiles at the idea of adding to the long list of upsets that have already taken place at this T20 World Cup.
In news that might pique the interest of Australian fans if no one else, their old foes and the defending champions are on the brink of missing out on the Super Eight stage.
More on England’s hopes and the calculations that will see them progress or otherwise:
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Australia and Namibia meeting in the 2024 T20 World Cup group stage match.
First ball at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua is 10:30am AEST (Tuesday June 11, 8:30pm local time).
Australia are flying high in Group B after a crushing victory over arch-rivals England although that followed a less convincing win over Oman in their tournament opener. A third consecutive triumph in the clash with Namibia would secure Mitch Marsh’s side’s progress to the Super Eight stage.
Namibia need an upset to keep their hopes of progressing to the next phase alive, after falling short against Scotland. But Gerhard Erasmus’ unpredictable side impressed in a thrilling Super Over victory against Oman that clinched Namibia’s first-ever win at a T20 World Cup.
The teams and toss will drop in about 15 minutes, but if you want to get in touch now or throughout the match, please email martin.pegan@theguardian.com or HMU on X / Twitter @martinpegan
