Erasmus made 88 not out and lost, and Zimbabwe’s final place now rests on Namibia beating South Africa
Innocent Kaia’s 72 off 42 took Zimbabwe past 157 with 11 balls to spare in Windhoek. Their group games are done, and the second place in Sunday’s final is out of their hands.
Sep 3, 2026
Gerhard Erasmus was 88 not out off 48 balls in Windhoek on Thursday and it was not enough. Namibia had been 25 for 3 inside six overs, their captain dragged them to 156 for 6, and Zimbabwe knocked it off with 11 balls to spare.
Innocent Kaia made 72 from 42 and the chase never really tightened. Zimbabwe won by five wickets, which keeps them alive in a tri-series they have now finished playing.
Erasmus batted through a collapse and a rebuild
Zimbabwe put Namibia in and had three wickets inside 5.2 overs. Louren Steenkamp went for 14, Jan Frylinck for 8, Zane Green for 1, and at that point Namibia had 25 on the board and the powerplay ended with them on 26 for 3.
Erasmus reached 50 from 32 balls, added 83 with Alexander Busing-Volschenk for the fourth wicket, and finished with eight fours and three sixes. Busing-Volschenk’s 29 came off 31. After he went in the 16th over Namibia lost Ruben Trumpelmann and JJ Smit cheaply, and the last four overs produced enough for a total of 156 without ever threatening a big one. Brad Evans and Kundai Matigimu took two wickets each, and Blessing Muzarabani, back in the side, went for 34 from his four.
Kaia took the game away in the powerplay
Zimbabwe lost Ben Curran in the second over and were then 59 for 1 at the end of six, which in a chase of 157 is most of the work done. Brian Bennett made 22 from 17. Kaia got to 50 off 30 balls and had 72 when Erasmus caught him in the 14th, by which time Zimbabwe were 124 for 3 and needed 33 from 40 balls.
Trumpelmann took two in two balls, Sikandar Raza caught by Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton and Wessly Madhevere first ball, which briefly made it interesting at 132 for 5. Ryan Burl and Tadiwanashe Marumani then hit a six each and finished it in the 19th over. Trumpelmann’s 2 for 41 was the pick of a Namibian attack that conceded 8.75 an over.
Zimbabwe are done, and now they watch
Zimbabwe have played all four of their group games and have four points from two wins. Namibia have two points from three, with one match left against South Africa on Friday. South Africa also have four points and a net run rate of plus 1.386, which is comfortably the best in the tournament.
So the second place in Sunday’s final comes down to Namibia beating South Africa. If they do, Namibia go level with Zimbabwe on four points, and Namibia’s net run rate of minus 0.095 is a long way clear of Zimbabwe’s minus 1.002. If Namibia lose, Zimbabwe are through on points.
The tournament is a round robin in which each side plays the other two twice, with the top two meeting in Sunday’s final at the same ground. All three are co-hosts of the 2027 World Cup, and this fortnight is early groundwork for it.
Zimbabwe have had an uneven week of it. They lost to South Africa by seven wickets on 29 August, beat Namibia by five runs on 31 August, then were bowled out for 142 and lost to South Africa by 43 runs on 1 September. Thursday was their most comfortable win of the series, and it may still not be the one that matters.