Cricket

Namibia vs South Africa 1st ODI Preview & Tips - South Africa backed for victory over Namibia in 1st ODI

By Ben Darvill

55 minutes ago

Ben Darvill 55 minutes ago

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South Africa have won their last four across formats
Namibia have been beaten in their last three cricket matches
Preview, stats & head to head

Lhuan-dre Pretorius of South Africa (Getty Images)

Namibia vs South Africa 1st ODI Preview & Tips
Head To Head
Namibia Form
South Africa Form

Namibia vs South Africa 1st ODI Preview & Tips

Namibia have struggled of late, with their stunning 18-run win over South Africa since making way for three successive defeats.

South Africa beat Zimbabwe by 48 runs in their last game as they secured the trophy in their T20 Tri-Series against Zimbabwe and Namibia.

South Africa have won their last four competitive matches
Lhuan-dre Pretorius has scored 94 and 101 in his last two outings for South Africa.

Head To Head

The pair have met four times before with South Africa winning twice and Namibia winning twice.

Namibia Form

Namibia would have had high hopes for their tri-series against Zimbabwe and South Africa after they stormed to the top of the standings following an 18-run win over favourites South Africa in their opener.

However, a pair of defeats to Zimbabwe saw Namibia slump to defeats by five runs and five wickets. Their final group game against the Proteas became a must-win, which was always a problem against an opponent that was on a three-game winning run.

Their clash saw South Africa hammer their way to 228/4 as Lhuan-dre Pretorius starred with 101 from 53. While Namibia did battle to a valiant 217/3, they were always up against it as their target remained just out of reach.

While Namibia are good enough to give South Africa issues with bat and ball, I do not see them winning this one. A change of formats is not something I believe will benefit them as they are beaten in their opening 50 over clash.

South Africa Form

South Africa have shown an impressive resolve across their tri-series by learning from their mistakes in their opener to ensure they went on a run that saw them secure the silverware.

A pair of wins over Zimbabwe saw South Africa in the ascendancy, and while they were the favourites to beat Namibia in their final group game, this tag can often hang heavily on a side. For South Africa, this did not seem to matter as they charged to an 11-run win before beating Zimbabwe by 48 runs in the final.

With four wins in their back pocket, South Africa will be confident. They may be missing a range of their biggest names, but some of their youngsters have really impressed. Lhuan-dre Pretorius top scored across the tri-series with 226 runs in four innings, and I back him to continue to impress in the first ODI.

Of course, a switch from T20 to 50 over cricket can often see players struggle to pace their innings, but I back South Africa's winning run in the shortest format to lead them to victory in the ODI game.

Verdict

Namibia v South Africa 1st ODI

I am backing Lhuan-dre Pretorius to continue to score runs as South Africa storm into a 1-0 ODI series lead over Namibia.

South Africa

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Pretorius 30+ Runs

Batter Milestones

@100.00 - 1 Unit