One of a few representatives from the African region, Namibia has a rich history in the world of Associate cricket on the international stage. Namibia was awarded Associate Member status from the ICC in 1992. Cricket in Namibia is administered by Cricket Namibia.

History of Cricket in Namibia

Cricket in Namibia dates back over a hundred years. The sport was played in 1909 in the country, when Namibia was still a German colony. In 1930, the South West Africa Cricket Union was created, which resulted in cricket gaining traction in Namibia.

More than three decades later, South West Africa were part of several tournaments organized by districts in South Africa, which further catalysed the progress of cricket in Namibia.

While Namibia is not a Test-playing nation, the country played its first ODI against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club in February 2003 as part of the 2003 ODI World Cup. In that campaign, Namibia suffered losses to Pakistan (171 runs), England (55 runs), India (181 runs), Australia (256 runs) and Netherlands (64 runs).

Namibia’s T20 Era

Since the ICC granted Namibia Full Member status in April 2018, Namibia have grown to a country of reputable prowess on the T20I stage. Namibia played its first official T20I against Ghana in May 2019 in Kampala.

Namibia also won the ICC Associate Member Men's Performance of the Year award in July 2020. Namibia qualified for the ICC T20 World Cup in the UAE in 2021 too. One year later, Namibia beat Sri Lanka by 55 runs in the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup in Geelong. Eventually, Namibia finished 13th out of 16 teams in that World Cup in Australia.

In the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, played in the West Indies and USA, Namibia won one of four matches to finish 15th out of 20 teams. Yet, performances of substance in both those World Cups have set up Namibia as a consistent T20I team.