Erasmus wins three awards
Namibia Eagles captain Gerhard Erasmus capped a great season by winning three awards at Cricket Namibia’s annual award ceremony on Saturday night.
Erasmus won the player of the year award for the second year in a row. He also won the T20 player of the year and ODI player of the year awards.
In January, Erasmus won the ICC Associate Member player of the year award for the second time in three years after another successful season, scoring 727 runs, including eight half-centuries, and taking 36 wickets.
Spin bowler Bernard Scholtz won the players’ player of the year award while JC Balt won the most improved national Eagles player award.
Among the women, Wilka Mwatile won the Capricorn Eagles player of the year award as well as the bowler of the year award with 32 wickets in 26 matches.
National captain Sune Wittmann won the batter of the year award with 512 runs at a strike rate of 105 and an average of 21.00, while Mekelaye Mwatile won the players’ player of the year award and Eveleen Kejarukua the most improved player award.
There were also several special recognition awards for exceptional contributions to Namibian cricket. Scholtz was honoured with a special recognition award after a brilliant season that saw him being ranked as the fourth best One Day International (ODI) bowler in the world.
Top-order batter Michael van Lingen was honoured with a special recognition award after retiring prematurely from the game at the age of 26 last year. Last year, Van Lingen scored 445 runs with a highest score of 107 and an average of 37.08, while he scored 1 318 ODI runs throughout his career at an average of 38.76.
Nicol Loftie-Eaton received an outstanding achievement award after breaking the world record last year for the fastest century in a T20 international match. Last year, he broke the record with a 33-ball hundred against Nepal, but Sauhil Chauhan of Estonia has since broken that record with a 27-ball century against Cyprus.
Namibian Eagles head coach Pierre de Bruyn, who stepped down as national coach after six years in charge, received a special recognition award after leading the Eagles to unprecedented success. Under his leadership, Namibia achieved ODI status in 2019, a milestone that elevated the team onto the global stage and opened the doors to greater opportunities and recognition.
His tenure was further marked by Namibia’s historic qualification for three ICC Men’s T20 World Cup tournaments — in 2021, 2022 and 2024. The team’s accolades under his leadership include four ICC Associate Member Men’s Performance of the Year awards, testament to the team’s extraordinary rise under his leadership.
The coach of the national women’s cricket team, the Capricorn Eagles, Francois van der Merwe won the coach of the year award after the team showed consistent progress, with a win ratio of 56% in their international matches.
There were numerous other awards throughout the evening with players, coaches, administrators and sponsors being recognised for their contributions to Namibian cricket.
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