A tale of Richelieu Eagles that every cricket fanatic should know

Namibia, on their historical tour to Zimbabwe, recorded their first ever series win against a Test playing nation. They strived for history, coming into this historic tour at Bulawayo, one of cricket's favourite stories from the biggest T20 party in UAE last year.

A sense of opportunity, on the road to Australia..

Namibia, who already qualified for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, sensed an opportunity to gear up and show the world that they mean business. Keeping the 2021 heroics in mind, the Richelieu Eagles have achieved a perfect sense of belief to achieve new heights, leading to the mega event in Australia. 

This series win over Zimbabwe never came on a platter for the Eagles. It was a closely fought series, where both sides went down at some point, but only one of them bounced back, striking the opposition every time. Be it in the second T20I after being 1-0 down, or chasing a solid target of 158 in the fourth T20I or defending 127 in the decider, the Gerhard Erasmus-led side made it through not once, not twice but thrice. 

The first tale of their redemption

The number of runs Craig Williams scored throughout the series shall remain the highlights of the T20Is. However, it was in the second T20I, where a dominant all-round performance saw Namibia fighting back into the series, the first tale of their redemption. 

David Wiese started the fightback in the game, removing two of the top three batters, restricting Zimbabwe to just 122, followed by Williams' unbeaten 62 in the second innings, taking Namibia home by seven wickets with two overs to spare, the first step towards history. 

Making history was not that easy 

Yes, the hosts struck back with an eight-wicket win in the third T20I. Namibia decided to bat first, despite winning the last game by batting second. 

It was a big stage, and Wessley Madhevere wasted no time as he came all guns blazing, making a mockery of Namibia's total. As a result, Zimbabwe won the game with almost three overs to spare, taking the lead in the series. 

Captain Erasmus rose to the occasion

Erasmus, 27, had already admitted the last five months were quite mentally draining. He was not sure if he could take the field ever again, but he was there, which was a massive boost to his team. 

Coming into the fourth T20I, Namibia were 2-1 down with two T20Is to spare, leaving no space to breathe. They had to win that game on Sunday (May 22nd) to stay alive in the five-match series, with the decider on Tuesday (May 24th). 

Bernard Scholtz's three-for played a massive part in pushing Zimbabwe down before captain Erasmus led the way with the bat to secure a six wickets win off the last ball to level the series. 

Yes, they came back again, and how? 

Chasing 158 on a track like that of Bulawayo, Namibia were 48 for 2 at the end of the powerplay. Erasmus and Michael van Lingen made a 77-run partnership before van Lingen fell to Tendai Chatara in the 18th over. 

Chatara tried his best to bring back Zimbabwe, but Erasmus hit Luke Jongwe for two fours in the penultimate over, keeping just five runs for the last over. Zane Green finished the job with a last-ball boundary. He completed another tale of a comeback and levelled 2-2 ahead of the decider. 

The decider

In the finale, locked 2-2, Namibia were one step away from making history. A series win would have underlined their tale of comebacks, leading them to be the next big thing in African cricket. 

Zimbabwe won the toss and asked the opposition to bat first; doing so, the visitors never won a game in this series. Chasing was always easy in Bulawayo.

The visitors started strongly, having scored 79 for 4 at the halfway mark. Williams was once again among the runs. Although Zimbabwe kept Namibia quiet in the second half of the innings, Williams stood tall and scored an important 48 off 39. In the end, Jan Frylinck's 15 and Ruben Trumpelmann's 19 off 14, gave Namibia a total of 127 to defend. 

Yes. Only 127, on a track where the total was defended only once in the series and not even once in the 120s. Then comes the third tale of redemption. 

Namibia bowled Zimbabwe out for 95. Yes, 95 to win the five-match series by 3-2 after being 2-1 down, away from home. 

Their first series win over a Test playing nation. 

It was a complete team performance from them. Right from the first T20I, there was more than one story to tell. 

The story of 19-year-old Divan la Cock scoring half-century on debut. The story of veteran Williams' runs with the bat. Wiese led the attack to lead the first tale of redemption in the second T20I. Captain Erasmus returned from injury, and at last, Jan Frylinck became the first Eagle to take 50 T20I wickets. 

With T20I rankings likely to decide who will seal an automatic spot for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies, this series win is even more important for Namibia before heading to Australia in 2022.