Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey

T20 WC 2021 Match 7: NAM vs NED Dream11 Prediction & Fan2Play Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | NED vs NAM Dream11 Prediction Today | Namibia vs Netherlands Key Players | Abu Dhabi Pitch Report

Two sides who had high hopes coming into the T20 World Cup came crashing down to earth two days ago. Netherlands and Namibia will be looking for significant batting improvements after scoring just 202 runs between them against Ireland and Sri Lanka respectively.

As a result, both sides face a must-win game today. The Netherlands were particularly disappointing against Ireland in what looked a very even matchup on paper. They were never in the contest after a poor start followed by four wickets in four balls for Curtis Campher. A strong performance today, led by a better batting performance and capable seam attack, can do wonders for their chances of qualifying for the Super 12s.

Indeed, the Namibians will be after the same. They started brilliantly with the ball against Sri Lanka, reducing them to 26/3. However, their score of 96 was never going to be enough, and like their opponents today, will be seeking a batting improvement. The talent and six-hitting ability is there, but the key will be stringing enough partnerships together to set things up for a final onslaught in the death overs.

Both sides have met just once in T20I cricket to date, with the Dutch winning comfortably by 44 runs in the T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in 2019.

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

Namibia:

• Craig Williams is a key player in Namibia’s recovery effort. He top scored against Sri Lanka (hard-fought 29), after a brilliant run of form in his previous for T20Is: 57, 50, 57, and 81.
• Williams was also top scorer (27) for Namibia in their only T20I against Netherlands back in 2019.
• Skipper Gerhard Erasmus was Namibia’s top run-scorer in the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier (9 inns, 268 runs, avg. 38.28, SR 137.43). He was the second-highest scorer against Sri Lanka (20 off 19 balls) in a partnership of 39 with Williams. Can he build on this today?
• David Wiese had an off night against Sri Lanka, which hurt Namibia. The seasoned T20 cricketer has the most five-wicket hauls of any bowler in T20s, with the habit of taking big wickets when he takes at least one. Wiese scored 31 and took 2/23 in a recent warm up match against Scotland.
• Wiese has smashed 49 runs in two T20s vs Netherlands at a strike rate of 222.73. He also has three wickets to his name against them.
• If JJ Smit fires, watch out. He has struck 22 sixes in 19 T20Is. Smit hit the most sixes in the 2019 World Cup Qualifier in the UAE, with 14 maximums in nine matches. He also took 16 wickets in the same campaign, including 2/31 against Netherlands.
• Jan Frylinck was unlucky to not have taken a wicket against Sri Lanka courtesy of a dropped catch at fine leg. Namibia’s highest ever wicket-taker in T20Is (35 wickets in 21 matches) took 3/25 against Netherlands in 2019.
• Left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz bowled well against Sri Lanka (1/16). He was also terrific against Netherlands in 2019 with 1/15 in four overs. He will be key in the middle overs – a period where Netherlands struggled badly against Ireland.

Netherlands:

• Max O’Dowd was the only Netherlands batsman to show any meaningful resistance against Ireland, with a 47-ball 51.
• O’Dowd is in decent form. His last 10 white-ball matches have yielded scores of: 133*, 9, 20, 82, 8, 23, 36, 36, 21, 51.
• It was a disappointing return for Ryan ten Doeschate in his last international tournament. He was player of the match against Namibia in 2019, with a 40-ball 59 that drove the Dutch to 140/6.
• Ben Cooper was run out for a duck vs Ireland, which was disappointing given he has a great record against them. He was dismissed cheaply against Namibia in 2019 (3 off 4 balls), and is enduring a lean run of form in recent times. Can he turn this around today?
• Roelof van der Merwe will be key to his team’s hopes, and he will be aiming to improve on a tough outing vs Ireland (0 and 0/31). He has 16 wickets in as many matches this year, as well as 123 runs at an average of 20.50 and strike rate of 128.13.
• Time for Netherlands to play Paul van Meekeren? The seamer had a successful CPL campaign with St Kitts, and was too good for Namibia in 2019 with 3/16 in four overs.
• Brandon Glover took 3/15 in the same game. He showed promising form in the last match vs Ireland, with 1/21.

Stats and Facts

• Netherlands (140/6) beat Namibia (96) by 44 runs in the 2019 World Cup Qualifier. Interestingly, Netherlands were struggling at 66/4 in 12.3 overs before ten Doeschate led the recovery.
• Namibia’s 96 against Sri Lanka was their equal lowest T20I score alongside their 96 against Netherlands.
• Craig Williams has scored four half-centuries in his last five matches, and is averaging 41.14 in T20Is this year.

Possible Playing 11

Namibia could look to stick with the same XI despite the disappointing loss to Sri Lanka.

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

Netherlands could look at bringing in Stephan Myburgh, but that would be harsh on the likes of Ben Cooper or Bas de Leede after one match.

Netherlands: 1. Max O’Dowd, 2. Ben Cooper, 3. Bas de Leede, 4. Colin Ackermann, 5. Ryan ten Doeschate, 6. Scott Edwards (wk), 7. Roelof van der Merwe, 8. Pieter Seelar (c), 9. Logan van Beek/Paul van Meekeren, 10. Fred Klaasen, 11. Brandon Glover/Tim van der Gugten

Abu Dhabi Pitch Report and Weather

The teams batting first two days ago had shockers. However, it was more down to the batting rather than any demons in the surface. The track should be a good one for batting today on another very hot day.

Dream11 Prediction

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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: Zak Green
• Batsmen: Max O’Dowd, Craig Williams
• All-rounders: David Wiese, JJ Smit, Pietar Seelaar
• Bowlers: Bernard Scholtz, Fred Klaasen

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Match Prediction

Which team will handle the pressure better? Netherlands, with their experience, start as favourites and look a good chance to win this match.