🏏ICC Men's T20 World Cup : M 10 : NED vs Namibia at Delhi🏏

🏏ICC Men's T20 World Cup : M 10 : NED vs NAM at Delhi🏏

Netherlands vs Namibia, 10th Match, Group A

This match is big for the teams involved. Netherlands vs Namibia in Delhi won't draw as many eyeballs as when subcontinental giants clash, but for the team that loses on Tuesday, it is the beginning of their end at the 2026 T20 World Cup. They have been placed in Group A alongside USA, India, and Pakistan. Only the top two make the Super Eights, and a loss will put either team on the brink of elimination.

In the 10th T20 match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, Netherlands (NED) is set to face Namibia (NAM). The Netherlands began their tournament on a positive note but narrowly missed the opportunity to create history, as they lost to Pakistan by three wickets in the last match.

Bas de Leede did well with the bat and scored 30 off 25 balls. Scott Edwards also scored 37 off 29 balls and helped the Netherlands to reach a total of 147 runs. With the ball, Paul van Meekeren was the standout performer, claiming two wickets for 20 runs in his four-over spell.

On the other hand, Namibia secured their fourth appearance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after an impressive showing in the Africa Region Qualifiers.

Their ability to challenge stronger opponents, Namibia entered the tournament with confidence. Under the captaincy of Gerhard Erasmus, the team will be eager to make an impression in this edition of the T20 World Cup.

Such a fate might seem particularly cruel for Namibia, who are the only team in the group to have not played a match yet. But like most Associate nations, they are used to jeopardy when they take the field - and they tackle it better than most of their peers.

Their consistency has vaulted them to their fourth consecutive World Cup appearance after a competitive Africa qualifiers tournament. This match will also be their first T20I since October 2025; that last one was a final-over thriller they won in their first-ever clash against South Africa.

Netherlands will be rueing a topsy-turvy contest against Pakistan on Saturday that they were losing, then surely winning, and then losing again. Paul Van Meekeren did not mince his words in the aftermath of the contest: "I want to be very clear: Pakistan didn't win the game today, we lost the game against ourselves."

Netherlands could have been on two points after causing an opening-day upset, but instead they enter this game knowing they cannot afford to let another winning situation slip past them.

Namibia WLWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Netherlands LLLWW

In the spotlight: Paul van Meekeren and JJ Smit

Netherlands quick Paul van Meekeren had been there, almost done that on Saturday: Pakistan needed just 50 off nine overs when he bowled a double-wicket maiden to trigger a massive slowdown. He finished with figures of 2 for 20, but the Netherlands fell short of a win and van Meerken of the headlines.

If T20 squads are built around all-rounders, JJ Smit has certainly laid Namibia's strong foundations in the build-up to this World Cup. He was their biggest utility player at the Africa qualifiers - the tournament's third-highest run-scorer, with 197 runs in four innings at 98.50 and a strike rate of 187.61. He can also bowl handy medium pace, and chipped in with six wickets in five games. In 2025, he bowled with an economy rate of 6.19 and will be vital to Namibia's chances of taking control of the middle overs.

Team news

An impressive all-round bowling performance took Netherlands close to a famous win, so it is unlikely they will be tinkering with their combinations just yet.

Netherlands (possible): 1 Michael Levitt, 2 Max O'Dowd, 3 Bas de Leede, 4 Colin Ackermann, 5 Scott Edwards (capt & wk), 6 Zach Lion-Cachet, 7 Logan van Beek, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Aryan Dutt, 10 Kyle Klein, 11 Paul van Meekeren

The Delhi pitch should have plenty in it for the spinners, especially under the sun, for Namibia to begin the tournament with their veteran left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz in the eleven.

Namibia (possible): 1 Louren Steenkamp, 2 Jan Frylinck, 3 Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, 4 Gerhard Erasmus (capt), 5 JJ Smit, 6 Malan Kruger, 7 Zane Green (wk), 8 Ruben Trumpelmann, 9 Bernard Scholtz, 10 Ben Shikongo, 11 Jack Brassell

Pitch and conditions: Short boundaries, big runs?

Another biting winter nears its end in north India, but this late-morning game in Delhi - starts at 11 am IST - should see temperatures hover around a more manageable mid 20s (Celsius). There is no rain in the air but plenty of haze, which might make fielding a challenge. The Arun Jaitley Stadium is also one of the smaller venues in the country, so its short boundaries will facilitate plenty of big-hitting.

Stats and trivia

Netherlands and Namibia have faced off in four completed T20Is, with Netherlands leading the head-to-head 3-1, including a win in their most recent encounter in February 2024, when they piled on a massive total of 247 for 5.

Namibia will bank on their leading run-getter and wicket-taker in T20Is: Gerhard Erasmus has 1833 runs in 77 innings at an average of 32.15, while Bernard Scholtz has taken 79 wickets at an average of 19.79 and an economy of 6.18.

In eight T20Is played across eight years at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, teams have scored 165 on average. But half these matches took place in another era, during the 2016 T20 World Cup. During the last match played here, in October 2024, India smashed Bangladesh for 221 as a truer indication of the ground's high-scoring potential.

Quotes

"We're a very close team so obviously there are a few guys who are actually really disappointed in the changing room, but we stand behind them, we back them all the way for the next game to turn it around - they don't even need to turn it around, just to be the best they can be and win the next game for us against Namibia."
Paul Van Meekeren after their near-win against Pakistan

Namibian cricket is having a moment. They have built a world class, albeit small, new ground - where they beat South Africa in a T20I in October and where Jay Shah himself turned up last month. They successfully co-hosted, with Zimbabwe, this year's Men's Under-19 World Cup. And will look to do the same, with South Africa and Zimbabwe, in next year's Senior Men's World Cup. How could they not ride that wave of positivity all the way to Asia?

The way they play

Gritty rather than gorgeous. They find a way. Since the start of last year Namibia have won four T20Is batting first and five fielding first. More importantly they have lost only three in that time; twice after batting first and not reaching 170. They have topped 200 thrice and restricted opponents to totals of less than 150 five times.

There is little that is emphatic about the way the Namibians go about things. Maybe because their entire society is built on surviving catastrophe - colonialism, genocide, war - and daring to make a life around one of the world's most ancient deserts. This extends to cricket. Jan Frylinck has scored their only T20I century since the start of last year, and there have been just seven half-centuries. Fast bowler JJ Smit is their leading wicket-taker with a modest haul of 20. Yet here they are, at their four consecutive T20 World Cup.