Cricket News By TODAYLIVESCORE.INFO - Trumpelmann, Smit give Namibia winning start in Super 12. Ruben Trumpelmann became the first bowler to take three wickets in the first over of a T20I innings.
Ruben Trumpelmann became the first bowler to take three wickets in the first over of a T20I innings.
In a nutshell
Ruben Trumpelmann became the first bowler to take three wickets in the first over of a T20I innings, his tempo-setting over defining the rest of the game. In a clash between two teams that qualified out of the preliminary stage, Scotland made an under-par 109/8 after being put in to bat, a total that Namibia chased down after a little wobble through the middle.
Brief scores: Scotland 109/8 in 20 overs (Michael Leask 44; Ruben Trumpelmann 3-17, Jan Frylinck 2-10) lost to Namibia115/6 in 19.1 overs (JJ Smit 32*; Michael Leask 2-12) by four wickets.
Trumpelmann's dream, Scotland's nightmare
Scotland's batting line-up were sucker-punched by spin against Afghanistan in the last game and if they thought they'd have an easier time today, they were in for a rude shock against a swinging Kookaburra ball. Off the first ball of the game, Trumpelmann got George Munsey to inside a ball on to his stumps. Two wides followed before the left-arm seamer angled one across Calum MacLeod and had his man nicking to the keeper. In walked Richie Berrington, standing in as captain for the injured Kyle Coetzer (finger) and received a ball bend back into him and ping his pads. He was adjudged LBW and even a referral offered no respite.
Trumpelmann's first over had handed ducks to three of Scotland's senior batsmen with the two runs coming off wides. There was a fourth wicket in the PowerPlay as David Wiese dismissed Craig Wallance as Namibia had Scotland on the ropes at 22/4 after six overs.
The Leask-led recovery
At a time when runs were hard to come by, Michael Leask got off the mark with an inside edge to fine leg for a four. It heralded the start of a brief recovery as Leask and Matt Cross put on 39 off the next 33 balls with the former targetting the shorter boundary on the legside with a pulled four off Wiese and then a four and a six off Michael van Lingen. Just as the partnership entered dangerous territory then the other left-arm seamer Jan Frylinck castled Cross.
Leask kept the charge from his end, shuffling across his crease to pull JJ Smit over cow corner for a six. Leask's premeditation eventually worked against him as Smit arrowed one ball onto the stumps having been given a full sighter of them with the batter walking across them. Nevertheless, his 27-ball 44 took Scotland to a total of 109.
Straightforward chase… not quite
Namibia were reduced to 67/4 in 12.3 overs with Scotland's spinners led again by Leask, threatening to run through. It took a quick counter-attack from JJ Smit, who hit two fours and an equal number of sixes to take the team with five balls to spare.
What next for the teams?
Namibia take on Afghanistan at the same venue on Sunday. Scotland have a week off before their fixture against New Zealand in Dubai next Wednesday (November 3).
