T20 World Cup: Namibia's David Wiese targeting repeat of Super 12 appearance
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David Wiese scored 227 at an average of 45.40 for Namibia at last year's T20 World Cup
Namibia all-rounder David Weise is targeting a repeat of the team's Super 12 success at the last T20 World Cup when they line up for this year's showpiece in Australia, which starts on Sunday.
The Eagles were shock qualifiers from the first round at the Covid-delayed tournament in United Arab Emirates last year, finishing second behind Sri Lanka in a group that included Ireland and the Netherlands,
The Africans were eliminated from their six-team group in the Super 12 stage, with their victory against Scotland being their solitary win.
Namibia face both Sri Lanka and the Netherlands once more in the first group stage this year, alongside a meeting with the UAE.
"I feel we've probably got a better chance this year than what people would expect," Wiese told BBC Sport Africa.
"We raised the bar quite high for ourselves and coming into last year's World Cup, I don't think we really expected to make it into the Super 12s as we were obviously the underdogs.
"You need to win two games to qualify and it's going to be tough, but I like to think we stand a good chance.
"It's a nice position at this stage because every time we play against the big teams, we are seen as the underdogs and that takes pressure off - and if it goes the other way and we beat Sri Lanka, then people start talking.
"We've got nothing to lose and everything to gain, so we can go out there and express ourselves."
Namibia beat Ireland by 11 runs in a warm-up match on Tuesday, but their preparations were hit when Thursday's meeting with Zimbabwe was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of heavy rain.
The Namibians play Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tournament in Geelong on Sunday (04:00 GMT).
The Eagles on the rise
Wiese will be looking to repeat last year's heroics with bat and ball for Namibia in Australia
Wiese was born in Roodepoort, South Africa, and played in 15 One-Day Internationals and 36 T20s for the country of his birth, including appearing three times for the Proteas at the 2016 T20 World Cup in India.
The 37-year-old retired from international cricket after that tournament to take up a permanent contract in English cricket with Sussex but made the switch to Namibia, the country of his father, in 2021.
His debut came in the opening match of last year's World Cup and he was the player of the match in the crunch first-round victory against Ireland, taking two wickets and finishing unbeaten on 28.
"I felt a lot of expectations on my shoulders to be the big player in the team but I learned quickly that we've got some talented players," Wiese reflected.
"It's a country that's close to my heart. I've got a lot of family there. It was nice to be able to stand there singing the national anthem, and know that's like almost going back to my roots.
"When I first started, I didn't know what to expect, not just with Namibia but associate cricket in general.
"I don't want to say that you look down on it - it is second-tier cricket - and I quickly realised it's not like that and there's a lot of talent, Namibia included.
"The UAE, Oman and the USA are also coming through now - there's a lot of talent out there - it's just the opportunity that's lacking at this stage. Namibia are only going to get better by playing against the Test-level nations.
"Unfortunately that's just not there. I'd also love to see these tournaments (around the world) forced to have one associate level player in the squad to grow the game."
Namibia are the third-highest African nation in the T20 rankings, behind South Africa and Zimbabwe, but Wiese thinks their 3-2 series win over the latter in May could be a springboard if the right opportunities present themselves.
"I know there's talk of having an Afro-Asia Cup in the future and if a couple of Namibian guys could be included in that, playing against some top opposition, then we could close the gap quite quickly," he continued.
"You need funding for all these things but if the International Cricket Council (ICC) can look at a different model to get a couple more associate teams involved in playing triangular series, like Namibia piggy-backing on a South Africa series at home, that can develop the game.
"Once we start playing against better teams, we can inspire younger generations of African players to come through and then it can be a snowball effect. It all depends on the ICC and where they see the game moving in the next couple of years."
The future of cricket in Africa
Wiese has had spells playing for clubs in South Africa, India, England, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Caribbean
Wiese, who was approached to play for Namibia before he made his South Africa debut in 2013, had to wait four years after his last game for the Proteas before being able to represent the Eagles.
One thing the exposure for both countries has given the all-rounder is a depth of knowledge about cricket around the world, and in particular in Africa.
"There's still a long way to go with cricket in Africa specifically," Wiese said. "You've seen a couple of countries playing a bit better but I still feel like there's a lot more that can happen.
"Maybe cricket is thought to be a privileged sport, so there are not really facilities for African countries. A lot of people are poverty-stricken in these countries so maybe there's not the infrastructure but I know that Africa Cricket is putting in a lot of funding and effort to grow the game.
"There's the European League now and if there could be an Africa League to develop the game, that would be awesome. I do feel there's a lot of talent out there that you can tap into.
"African sport has been dominated by football, but cricket is such a great team sport and keeps you fit and healthy.
"If you can go into schools and let kids play the game and enjoy each other's company, with so much talk about mental health, happiness and kids growing up in poverty, cricket can be a way to take them away from that and enjoy life."