Stats: Netherlands and Namibia script new records to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2020

The Netherlands and Namibia registered big wins over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman respectively in the playoff matches on Tuesday to qualify for the 2020 Men’s T20 World Cup. The Dutch team stormed into T20 World Cup for the 3rd straight edition as they thumped the UAE by an 8-wicket margin in the afternoon match. UAE, the home team was reduced to 4/4 inside three overs. They were reduced to 9/5 by 5th over but recovered from that position to finish on 80/9.

The Netherlands chased down the target in 15.1 overs without any urgency. On the other hand, Namibia qualified for the T20 WC for the first time ever. The 2003 World Cup was the only other time they appeared in an ICC event. After starting the current tournament with two big losses, Namibia peaked at the right time. With their 5th consecutive win in this competition, they earned their ticket to Australia. Oman were bundled out for only 107 in response to Namibia’s 161/7.

All the statistical highlights from the historic wins of Netherlands and Namibia from Tuesday:

Namibia’s 100% record:

8 – Namibia has batted first in eight out of 14 matches in the T20I format and ended up winning all those eight. They are only the 3rd team to win 8 or more consecutive matches while defending a total. South Africa, between 2009 and 2010, won 11 T20Is in succession while batting first while Afghanistan had nine T20I wins in a row when defending a total.

3 – Namibia has bowled out their opposition in each of their last three matches. They are only the 5th associate nation to bowl opponent out in three straight T20I games. Romania, Hong Kong, Oman and PNG are the other four associates to achieve this feat.

A new bowling record:

15 – Number of wickets Jan Frylinck has bagged in this Qualifier tournament; the joint-most by any player in a T20I series/tournament. Frylinck equalled the record held by Ajantha Mendis with 15 wickets during the 2012 WT20 from six games.

Bernard Scholtz has taken 14 wickets in the ongoing tournament same as Paul van Meekeren of the Netherlands. These three players have a chance of playing two more matches in this tournament.

60 – Namibia has taken 60 wickets in this tournament; the most by any team in a T20I series/tournament. The Netherlands is 2nd on this list having picked 59 wickets. They share the 2nd position with Australia who also took 59 wickets from 7 matches during the 2010 WT20 where they made it to the final.

A collapse to start:

4/4 – UAE’s total of 4/4 is the 3rd lowest score at the fall of 4th wicket in T20I cricket. Kenya were 1/4 in the 2007 WT20 game against New Zealand while the Kiwis found themselves 3/4 in the 2010 Christchurch T20I against Pakistan.

9/5 – The total of 9/5 by UAE is only the 5th instance in T20I cricket where a team lost its 5th wicket inside 10 runs. Three such instances have been recorded when the Netherlands has been the bowling team. Turkey lost the 5th wickets for 9 runs and 5 runs respectively against Romania and the Czech Republic on consecutive days.

Earlier in 2016, UAE lost their 5th wicket against the Dutch at the score of seven runs only. The Netherlands had Kenya 8/5 during the Qualifiers for the WT20 2014. Both the matches were hosted by the ICC Academy in Dubai.

Wicket off the first ball:

5 – Namibia became only the 5th team to win a T20I match after losing a wicket on the first ball of the match. Four teams won a T20I after losing a wicket on the first ball while chasing a target.

Oman lost their first wicket on the 2nd ball of their innings. Only three matches before this game witnessed the teams collectively facing as few as three balls for losing their first wicket in a T20I.

The fastest fifty for Namibia:

20 – The 20-ball fifty from JJ Smit is the fastest in International cricket for Namibia. This is also the 2nd fastest in any professional match recorded for Namibia. Louis van der Westhuizen brought up his fifty in only 19 balls when he blasted a 50-ball 145 against Kenya during a T20 game in 2011 which didn’t have official T20I status.