Nigeria’s men’s senior cricket team captain, Sylvester Okpe, has blamed poor bowling execution for their 117-run defeat to Namibia in Sunday’s 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier clash at the Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe.
The Yellow Greens, who had opened their campaign with a convincing win over Malawi on Friday, were outclassed in their second group fixture. Okpe won the toss and opted to field, but Namibia’s top order dominated from the outset.
Jan Frylinck stole the show with a blistering 134 off 65 balls, while Louren Steenkamp added 51 off 27, guiding Namibia to a formidable 235/6 in 20 overs. Despite Nigeria’s struggles, Isaac Danladi impressed with figures of 4/22 from three overs, and Isaac Okpe chipped in with two wickets.
Chasing 236, Nigeria faced disciplined bowling from the Namibians. Sulaimon Runsewe (28), Sylvester Okpe (24), and Joseph Adedeji (16) fought hard, but the Yellow Greens could only manage 118/9 in their 20 overs.
Speaking after the game, Okpe admitted Namibia’s superiority but highlighted positives for Nigeria moving forward.
“We didn’t execute our bowling the way we wanted, and that put us on the back foot,” he said.
“There were positives in the way Danladi bowled and how we tried to fight back. There was intensity in our batting as well, and we’ll take that into the next game.”
Nigeria will now face Kenya in their final group match, knowing that victory will secure a semi-final berth. The top two teams from the qualifiers will book Africa’s tickets to the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
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