With 2 matches down for both teams, tomorrow’s match between Ireland and Namibia has been dubbed the ‘winner take all’ match. Tied at 2nd place, with the only difference coming in net run rate, whichever team wins will make it to the World Cup Super 12. Graham Ford, Ireland’s coach, has been in talks with people from the IPL, trying to understand the pitches a bit better.
Ford commented on the whole situation and their road to this match, “I’ve had a few good chats with some of the IPL coaches, but we’ll keep that to ourselves for now, win or lose, we are gaining and we are learning, but quite obviously we’re desperate to go through to the next phase of the tournament.”
“We had a long bus journey then caught the end of the game and they did hit the ball extremely well at the end,” Ford said. “We know that they’ve got some very dangerous players and David Wiese, who put on a show – we caught the end of that show. He’s played for South Africa in the T20 World Cup before and I’ve seen him in South Africa and on the county circuit. He can be absolutely devastating, which he was today. They’ve got some dangerous players. They’ve got some very hard-working cricketers. Quite a few of them have learnt quite a lot of their cricket in South Africa and they pushed us close in the last game of the qualifiers. We know that they’re going to be tough – if we’re slightly off our best, we will struggle.”
Jos Buttler is likely to miss the remainder of the Test series against India. (Daily Mail)
Jos Buttler’s wife is expecting their second child. Because of the birth, he knew he might have to miss the final test with India. Instead, Buttler may miss the fourth match as well as the Ashes later this year. However, Joe Buttler looks set to miss the rest of England’s summer, as well as this winter’s Ashes, after the captain said he was unable to confirm whether he would be available for the fourth Testagainst India this week.
It was revealed last week that Buttler might miss the final Test against India at Old Trafford next month, as his wife is due to give birth to their second child on the day of the match.
However, given the fact that the final two matches of the series are back-to-back and the due date is so close to The Oval Test, it appears England will allow the 30-year-old to stay home for the remainder of the summer.
Root admits Buttler could miss England’s entire summer and the Ashes
Asked about Buttler’s availability this week, Root said: ‘That will be cleared up in the next couple of days. Hopefully, we can have some clarity on that and get that across to you as soon as that’s set in stone. I couldn’t tell you honestly either way at the minute. I don’t want to say one thing and it not turn out to be true.’
Given Buttler’s admission last week that he might miss this winter’s Ashes series in Australia because players’ families may not be able to travel to Australia, this move could signal the end of his Test career.
Up to ten England players are considering sitting out the tour, but Buttler was the only one to publicly state his position, stating: ‘One of the challenges is working out where the line is where you say, “I can’t do that“.
‘I’ve sacrificed a lot for cricket and my wife and family have sacrificed a lot. You have to be open to saying no”.
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David Wiese to play for Namibia in T20 World Cup 2021
David Wiese will play for Namibia in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman in 2021. Namibia’s head coach Pierre de Bruyn confirmed this during a recent interview.
Wiese played for the South African team at the T20 World Cup 2016 in India. However, due to limited opportunities, he opted to sign a Kolpak contract, which prevented him from playing for South Africa.
In addition to six One-Day Internationals, he took 33 wickets in 20 T20Is. In 2016, he last played for South Africa.
De Bruyn revealed that Wiese is eligible to play for Namibia due to his father’s birthplace.
“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,” said De Bruyn.
He has played 255 T20 matches around the globe and has played T20 cricket around the globe. De Bruyn is delighted to have the veteran player on his team.
“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. With the experience of playing in various T20 leagues around the world, including the IPL, he will be hopeful of making an impact with his new international team,” he further added.
A Namibian team will compete in the T20 World Cup 2021 qualifying round. They are placed in Group A along with Sri Lanka, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The top two teams will advance to the next round of the tournament.
