Over 50's Africa Cup Cricket Tournament  launched

18 November 2024 The 2024 Over 50’s Cricket Tournament, featuring Namibia, Zimbabwe, and two teams from South Africa, was officially launched by the Veterans Cricket Association of Namibia in Windhoek, last week Saturday.

The tournament features eight 45-over matches from the 17 to 21 November 2024.

The tournament, proudly sponsored by Nedbank Namibia to the tune of N$100 000, kicked off on Sunday, 17 November. Namibia took on the South Africa Proteas at the new High-Performance Oval (HP Oval formerly known as Doc Jubber), while Zimbabwe faced South Africa at Wanderers Cricket Ground.

Speaking at the tournament's official launch, Cricket Namibia Chief Executive Officer Johan Muller welcomed the visiting teams to enjoy the tournament.

“I recognise the local organising committee for a job well done in putting this together. To the visitors, enjoy your stay in Namibia, and good luck to all of you during this tournament,” Muller said.

Nedbank Namibia Head for Marketing and Communications, Gernot de Klerk, echoed Muller’s words by thanking the visiting teams and lauding the organisers for keeping the veteran's cricket alive.

“Nedbank Namibia is proud to sponsor the Over-50's Africa Cricket Tournament in Namibia. This tournament not only showcases the enduring talent and passion of veteran cricketers but also highlights the invaluable role they play in inspiring future generations and fostering the spirit of sportsmanship. As money experts who do good, our aim is to partner with like-minded organisations like Cricket Namibia, to create platforms like these where veteran players can showcase their athleticism,” De Klerk said.

He added: “We would like to thank Cricket Namibia for walking this journey with us as we continue to inspire our future stars. It’s a privilege to see Namibia hosting teams from across the continent, and we wish all participating teams the best of luck as they compete in this exciting and historic event.”

Speaking at the launch, Namibia Over 50’s cricket captain, Dawie Hartzenberg, said the pressure was on them as the home team.

“We have clear and realistic targets that we want to achieve in this tournament. We would like to improve our play from the previous tournament. We want to be a serious competition to our opponents during this tournament. It is also important for us to inspire the future Namibian generations to take the sport seriously,” he said.

Zimbabwean captain Darrell Goodwin said they came to win and enjoy and have fun as a unit while making friends on and off the pitch.

South Africa’s Proteas captain, Mario Solomons, said veterans' cricket is growing by leaps and bounds on the continent, and they were looking forward to this tournament.

“We are here to defend our title, as this tournament is vital for the development of the game. In Cape Town, we started with only eight teams a few years ago, and now we have 24 teams. We call upon other African countries to start veterans cricket teams and join us,” he said.

His views were echoed by Russell Bennett, the captain of South Africa A, who said his team is here to compete and they would like to inspire other veterans to continue playing cricket.

“We would like to meet new people and see friends whom we haven’t seen in a long time and create long-lasting friendships,” he said.

The matches will be livestreamed on https://oneuptwo.com and broadcast on NTV, DSTV Channel 285, ensuring everyone has access to the games.

Sun 17 Nov: South Africa v Namibia Wanderers 10:00

Sun 17 Nov: South Africa A vs Zimbabwe HP Oval 10:00

Mon 18 Nov Zimbabwe vs. South Africa Wanderers Sports Club 10:00

Mon 18 Nov Namibia vs. South Africa A United Sports Club 10:00

Wed 20 Nov Zimbabwe vs Namibia Wanderers Sports Club 10:00

Wed 20 Nov: South Africa vs. South Africa A United Sports Club 10:00

Thur 21 Nov: Position 1 vs. Position 2 Wanderers Sports Club 10:00

Thur 21 Nov: Position 3 vs. Position 4 United Sports Club 10:00