Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey

T20 WC 2021 Match 11: NAM vs IRE Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | NAM vs IRE Dream11 Prediction Today | Namibia vs Ireland Key Players | Sharjah Pitch Report

Who said we have to wait for the Semi Finals for knockout action? We have a virtual knockout here, with the incentive a prized spot in the Super 12s stage.

If that wasn’t challening enough for Ireland and Namibia, there’s more. This is the first match of this World Cup at Sharjah – a ground that was incredibly difficult for batsmen during the recent IPL. Assuming the surface will be slow and sluggish once again, this battle will be one of grit and determination, as well as keeping your cool in the hot Sharjah sun.

This could be a challenge in particular for Namibia, who love to deal in boundaries. David Wiese produced a magnificent innings to dismantle the Dutch on Wednesday, and he, along with his teammates, will do incredibly well to find the boundary with such regularity once again. Ireland, despite their big win over the Netherlands, still had question marks over their batting and it showed against Sri Lanka.

So, which team will stand tall with so much at stake? It promises to be a fascinating battle.

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

Namibia:

• One felt that the addition of David Wiese would propel Namibia to even greater heights. And it proved to be the case with an incredible 66* off 40 balls to seal victory against Netherlands.
• Also, Wiese has the potential to take big wickets. No bowler has more five-wicket hauls (6) than Wiese in T20 cricket.
• Skipper Gerhard Erasmus played a key role in the partnership with Wiese vs Netherlands (32 off 22 balls). Erasmus was excellent in his last match vs Ireland, smashing a 34-ball 51 in Dubai in the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifiers.
• Can Craig Williams turn around a shocking T20 record vs Ireland? The right-hander has scored just 56 runs in six matches at an average of 9.33 and strike rate of 78.87.
• Williams struck four half-centuries in five matches leading up to the T20 World Cup. He has made two double-figure scores so far in the tournament (29 and 11), but the Namibians need him to carry on today.
• JJ Smit has four wickets in four matches against Ireland at an average of 26.00 and economy rate of 8.05. Three of those four scalps came in his last meeting against them in 2019 where he took 3/19.
• The all-rounder also has six-hitting ability, with 22 maximums in 20 T20Is. He will be key as a finisher.
• Jan Frylinck was a factor against the Netherlands, foxing the batsmen with changes of pace to finish with 2/36. Such variations will be key on the Sharjah surface for Namibia’s highest ever wicket-taker in T20Is (37 wickets in 21 matches).
• Bernard Scholtz will be looking to build on his three wickets in four matches vs Ireland (avg. 33, econ. 6.60).

Ireland:

• Paul Stirling was out cheaply against Sri Lanka (7), and Ireland never looked in the contest from there. Stirling has had a good year in T20Is, with 408 runs in 13 matches at an average of 37.09 and strike rate of 120.00.
• Stirling has a solid record against Namibia that he will look to build on today. In six matches, Stirling has struck 149 runs at an average of 29.60 and strike rate of 140.96.
• Andy Balbirnie returned to some form against Sri Lanka with 41, although he couldn’t find any great fluency after the loss of early wickets. He will be looking to continue improving on sub-par numbers this year in T20Is (13 inns, 217 runs, avg. 17.75, SR 109.23).
• Balbirnie struck a 35-ball 46 in his last match against Namibia back in 2019.
• Gareth Delany was out cheaply vs Sri Lanka (2), but remains in good recent form. He struck 88* vs Bangladesh in the warm up, followed by a 29-ball 44 vs Netherlands. He has played just the one match vs Namibia, scoring just four in their 2019 match.
• Can Curtis Campher influence this game like he did vs Netherlands? He took four wickets in four balls earlier this week, and will look to target Namibia’s propensity to lose wickets in the middle overs. Also, Campher was involved in a 53-run partnership with Balbirnie vs Sri Lanka.
• Simi Singh had a shocker vs Sri Lanka (3-0-41-0) and is wicketless so far in the tournament. However, he was player of the match against Namibia in 2019 with 3/25, and he could be a factor today on the slow Sharjah track.
• Josh Little continues to take wickets. He was terrific against Sri Lanka taking 4/23, part of 12 wickets in nine T20Is this year at an economy rate below six runs per over.
• Little took two wickets in his only match vs Namibia, back in 2017.
• Mark Adair was at his economical best vs Namibia in 2019 (2/9 off 3.2 overs). He was also in the wickets at the backend vs Sri Lanka (2/35), so watch out for his battle against Namibia’s top and middle order.

Stats and Facts

• Ireland and Namibia have played six T20s against each other, with Ireland winning five. Only one of those was an official T20 International, with Ireland (135) beating Namibia (108) by 24 runs in the 2019 Qualifier third-place playoff match.
• Ireland have had first-wicket stands of 8 and 27, while Namibia have posted 10 and 34. Given that powerplay runs are so important at Sharjah, both sides will be aiming for strong starts.
• The winner of this match will go through to the Super 12s. Lose and it’s tournament over.

Possible Playing 11

Namibia: 1. Stephan Baard, 2. Zane Green (wk), 3. Craig Williams, 4. Gerhard Erasmus (c), 5. David Wiese, 6. JJ Smit, 7. Jan Frylinck, 8. Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, 9. Ruben Trumpelmann, 10. Pikky Ya France, 11. Bernard Scholtz

Ireland: 1. Paul Stirling, 2. Kevin O’Brien, 3. Andy Balbirnie (c), 4. Gareth Delany, 5. Curtis Campher, 6. George Dockrell/Harry Tector, 7. Neil Rock (wk), 8. Simi Singh, 9. Mark Adair, 10. Josh Little, 11. Craig Young/Ben White

Sharjah Pitch Report and Weather

The Sharjah surface was the most difficult to bat on out of the three UAE grounds in the recent IPL. The average first innings score was 137, with the chasing team winning seven out of the 10 matches.

Expect another slow surface in what will be very hot conditions. A challenge for the players.

Dream11 Prediction

Note: Teams below are not based on the final playing XIs. We may not be able to update these teams in time after the final playing XIs have been announced.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Fan2Play Prediction

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Base team:

• Wicket-keepers: Zane Green
• Batsmen: Gerhard Erasmus, Paul Stirling, Andy Balbirnie
• All-rounders: David Wiese, Curtis Campher
• Bowlers: Mark Adair, Josh Little

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Match Prediction

A tough match to pick. Ireland have the experience, but Namibia have such great drive and belief.

In the end, though, Ireland’s experience and capable bowling attack should be enough to get the win.

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