Dubai, October 20, 2021 (PPI-OT):When David Wiese was given a second opportunity to play international cricket, he knew he would be stupid not to take it.
Namibia gave the veteran all-rounder a path out of international exile and he repaid their faith in spades to set up their first-ever ICC Men’s T20 World Cup victory against the Netherlands in Abu Dhabi.
While the Eagles are making their debut at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, Wiese was part of the last edition as a member of the South Africa team that fell just short of the semi-finals.
Since then, he has become a man in demand in franchise cricket and one of the standout performers in the shortest format of the game.
With the dissolution of the Kolpak rule, the opportunity of representing Namibia, the country of his father’s birth, presented itself. Wiese leapt at the chance.
He said: “I never thought I’d get the opportunity to play international cricket again and when that opportunity came around… you’re going to be stupid not to take it.”
At the age of 36, he became just the third player to appear at an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for two separate countries following in the footsteps of Dirk Nannes (Netherlands and Australia) and Roelof van der Merwe (South Africa and Netherlands) when he represented Namibia against Sri Lanka earlier this week.
The question then became whether Wiese could provide the sort of match-winning performances for which he was known? Against the Netherlands he did just that, producing arguably his best knock in international cricket.
Coming in with Namibia 52 for three and needing another 113 runs at more than ten an over, the odds were stacked against him.
But on his franchise journey, Wiese has travelled the world, including plenty of experience of conditions in the UAE.
He explained: “It’s a wicket where you need to take your time to get in to get used to the pace. It skids a little more. It’s a bit more difficult to start off quickly, so you have just got to take a bit of that pressure and give yourself that time.
“You know the ball flies over here, there’s always a wind pushing towards the boundaries so once you take your time and get in, you can always catch up towards the end.”
Wiese took that approach literally, blocking out Pieter Seelaar’s first four balls to him, but by the next over he was lifting fellow former South Africa star Van der Merwe for a huge six.
Colin Ackermann suffered the same fate with two more sixes in the 11th over. From what looked like a comfortable Dutch win, suddenly Namibia were in control.
Wiese brought up his half-century with another maximum, this time off the returning Seelaar, doing so in just 29 balls.
By that stage, the win was effectively in the bag. Namibia had made history and it was their World Cup veteran who had won it for them.
He said: “It means a lot to me. A World Cup on the international stage is special and to put in a big performance for Namibia, I’m glad to get this opportunity to play international cricket.”
The next challenge is to back it up against Ireland. Do that and a place in the Super 12s could be the reward. Five years after his Proteas experience, Wiese is making the most of his second chance.
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