Staff Reporter.
Ireland were knocked out of the Men’s T20 World Cup as Namibia pulled off a shock eight-wicket win in Sharjah to reach the Super 12s.
Ireland laboured from 62-0 to 125-8 after Paul Stirling fell for 38.
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus hit 53 not out from 49 balls and David Wiese an unbeaten 28 from 14 to seal victory with nine balls to spare.
Namibia, the lowest ranked side in the World Cup, are playing in their first T20 World Cup.
In almost certainly finishing as runners-up in Group A, they will join India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan and Scotland in Group 2 of the Super 12s.
Sri Lanka, whose position as Group A winners is all but certain, play the Netherlands in the final preliminary stage match in Sharjah at 15:00 BST.
This is the biggest victory in Namibia’s cricket history as the associate nation beat a Test side to take their place alongside the game’s elite in the next phase.
Before this week they had never won a game at a T20 or 50-over World Cup. Having beaten the Netherlands on Wednesday, they now have two victories in three days.
“It is completely overwhelming,” said Wiese, the 36-year-old former South Africa all-rounder who was named player of the match.
“I don’t actually think I deserve to be standing here. The man of the match is Gerhard Erasmus for that innings.
“[It was] an unbelievable captain’s knock under pressure. Today is his moment.”
Erasmus, who has played for Namibia since 2011, said: “We are a small cricketing nation and are very proud of that. It means a lot. The achievement is one heck one.”
Namibia’s progress also secured their place at next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.