NAMIBIA's World Cup journey came to an end yesterday after a nerve-wracking seven-run defeat to the UAE.
A great batting revival led by David Wiese was not enough as they fell just short of the target, scoring 141/8 in reply to UAE's 148/3.
The result saw the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, with two wins each, progressing from Group A to the Super 12s stage, while third-placed Namibia and UAE, with one win each will now have to pack their bags and go home.
It was a disappointing end to a campaign that started with so much promise with a shock victory over Sri Lanka, but then faded with underwhelming batting performances against the Netherlands and the UAE.
In a match of changing fortunes, UAE elected to bat and got off to a steady start as Muhammad Waseem and Vriitya Aravind put on 39 runs for the first wicket.
Bernard Scholtz dismissed Aravind for 21 off a fine catch by Michael van Lingen, but Chundangapoyil Rizwan joined Waseem in a 58-run partnership, and with the total at 89/1 with six overs to go, the momentum had swung UAE's way.
Ben Shikongo, however, got the breakthrough, tempting Waseem with a slower ball, that he sliced to Ruben Trumpellmann at short third man, to be dismissed for 50 off 41 balls (1x4, 3x6).
When Alishan Sharafu was dismissed by Wiese for 4, after a great diving catch by wicket keeper Zane Green, the momentum was back with Namibia, but Rizwan and Basil Hameed finished strongly for UAE, scoring 33 runs off the last two overs.
Rizwan remained not out on 43 off 29 balls (3x4, 1x6), while Hameed was not out on 25 from 14 (2x4, 2x6), and with the total on 148/3 they had given their bowlers a big enough target to defend.
They responded with some tight bowling and turned up the pressure with some early wickets.
Stephan Baard was dismissed by Junaid Siddique for 4, caught off a leading edge, while Van Lingen was caught on the boundary for 10.
When Nicol Loftie-Eaton was dismissed lbw for one, trying a reverse sweep shot, Namibia were struggling at 26/3, but captain Gerhard Erasmus and Jan Frylinck revived Namibia's hopes with a budding partnership.
The match, however, swung in UAE's favour in a dramatic eighth over bowled by leg break spinner Karthik Meiyappan, who had taken a hat-trick against Sri Lanka two days earlier.
With his second ball he bowled Erasmus, trying to slice and hitting onto his wicket for 16, and then two balls later JJ Smit was unfortunately run out after some indecision and quick UAE fielding.
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With the total at 46/5, UAE were in charge, but Wiese started a great recovery, pinching the singles and hitting Meiyappan for six, and by the 12th over, Namibia were on track at 67/5.
Zahoor Khan rocked Namibia with a double-wicket strike in the 13th over, as he bowled both Frylinck (14) and Zane Green (2) and with the score at 69/7 it looked all over for Namibia.
Ruben Trumpelmann, however, joined Wise and the two brought Namibia right back into the game with some big boundaries.
Trumpelmann hit a huge six off Meiyappan, while Wiese hit three sixes, and with two overs to go Namibia were right back in the game, needing 20 runs for victory.
It wasn't to be though, as Wiese was caught on the boundary for 55 off 36 balls (3x4, 3x6), and with Trumpelmann remaining 25 not out, they reached 141/8 to fall seven runs short of the target.
They had come so close, but it was not good enough as captain Gerhard Erasmus conceded after the match.
"I thought we did well in patches with the ball to keep them to under 150, but I think it was much higher than par. All in all, it was quite disappointing to let them get away with a few cheap soft balls in between, but I thought the fielding and bowling stuck together quite nicely," he said.
Asked how he felt about beating Sri Lanka, but not qualifying for the Super 12s, he said it was the nature of the game.
"That's the art of tournament cricket, the momentum swings that happen. Often the momentum swings aren't in your control and you need to as a professional, react well. After the high of the first game, the momentum swung against us and we couldn't quite get over the line and play well enough cricket for the next two games to get through," he said.
