Namibia vs South Africa: Ruben Trumpelmann, Zane Green star to give Proteas a world record defeat

Namibia created history on Saturday (October 11) by registering their first-ever win against South Africa in international cricket. This was also the second time in three years that the Proteas had lost to an Associate nation.

 

Riding on Rubel Trumpelmann's all-round brilliance (3-28 and 11* off 8) and Zane Green's priceless cameo (30* off 23), Namibia beat South Africa by four wickets in a last-ball finish at Windhoek.

 

Despite chasing a below-par target of 135, Namibia fell behind and eventually needed 32 off the last 18 balls to seal the game. The 18th over, bowled by Bjorn Fortuin, went for nine with Trumpelmann finding a crucial boundary but it was the next over that really put the pressure on South Africa's bowlers.

 

With 23 needed off 12 balls, Lizaad Williams bowled the penultimate over and went for 12. The over only had one boundary but Green and Trumpelmann were brilliant in their running between the wickets as they stole a couple of twos in the over. With 11 needed off the final over, Green slammed a six off the very first ball to calm the nerves in the dugout.

 

It still went down to the final ball with Namibia needing a single to win and Green kept his calm to get the job done. Williams had bowled a brilliant new-ball spell and he along with Nandre Burger helped South Africaa to stay in the game despite a low total. Simelane, who bowled the final over, had also done well prior to that with two scalps but couldn't close the game out for his side.

 

The main credit, though, should go to Trumpelmann's bowling effort as the left-arm seamer picked up three wickets - all big scalps - as South Africa imploded to an under-par total. Jason Smith (31 off 30) and Rubin Hermann (23 off 18) were both threatening to build a big partnership but Trumpelmann removed both batters after having dislodged Reeza Hendricks earlier in the innings.

 

If not for Gerald Coetzee's couple of hits at the back end, the score would have been even lower. Max Heingo picked up two wickets but was the most expensive of Namibia's bowlers.

 

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