JJ Smit's 4-29 sets up Namibia's eight-wicket win over the UAE in Dallas

Namibia needed 26 overs to knock off 135 in Dallas after JJ Smit's four wickets left the United Arab Emirates all out for 134

Namibia beat the United Arab Emirates by eight wickets in the 131st match of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 at Grand Prairie Stadium on Friday, finishing the chase with 144 balls remaining.

Gerhard Erasmus put the UAE in and his seamers settled the match inside the first innings. JJ Smit took 4-29 from his 10 overs and was named player of the match, and Ruben Trumpelmann added 3-43 as the UAE were bowled out for 134 in 37.3 overs.

Michael van Lingen then made 71 from 83 balls to carry the reply most of the way, and Namibia were home at 135 for 2 with 24 overs unused.

Smit and Trumpelmann share seven

Smit's ten overs were the squeeze the UAE innings never recovered from. He conceded fewer than three an over and took four of the ten wickets to fall.

Trumpelmann worked through the rest, his 3-43 coming in 8.3 overs and closing the innings out inside 38 overs.

Between them the two seamers took seven of the ten UAE wickets, and Namibia did not need to turn to their spinners for long.

The UAE's batting never settles

Tanish Suri's 29 from 22 balls was both the quickest contribution of the innings and its highest score.

Rahul Chopra batted longest for his 28 from 55, but wickets fell steadily around him and the UAE never built a stand large enough to change the shape of the game.

No partnership of consequence followed, and the innings ended with 12.3 of the 50 overs unused.

Van Lingen sets up a short chase

Van Lingen's 71 followed the 124 he made against the United States at the same ground two days earlier.

Louren Steenkamp made 35 from 45 balls, and Namibia scored at better than five an over throughout a chase that was never in doubt.

Van Lingen was the second wicket to fall, caught by Harpreet Singh off Basil Hameed in the 24th over, by which point only a handful of runs were left.

Erasmus, on 6, and Jan Frylinck, on 14, were together at the finish. Hameed and Ali Naseer took the only wickets of the innings, finishing with 1-39 and 1-29.

Two days after the USA took the title

The result followed a harder night for Namibia on Wednesday, when the United States chased down 299 with seven balls to spare at Grand Prairie Stadium to seal the League 2 title.

Namibia had posted 298 for 9 in that match, van Lingen making 124 and Erasmus 76, and Monank Patel answered with 108 for the USA.

The ICC has confirmed that the United States, Scotland and the Netherlands are assured of places in the 10-team ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2027.

A three-team series in Dallas

This round of League 2 is being played as a three-team series in Dallas between the United States, Namibia and the UAE, with every match at Grand Prairie Stadium.

League 2 is the long-form qualifying ladder for the 2027 World Cup, which South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia will host.

Namibia and the UAE have now met twice inside a week at the ground, the earlier fixture having produced no result.

Scorecard: United Arab Emirates 134 all out in 37.3 overs (Tanish Suri 29, Rahul Chopra 28; JJ Smit 4-29, Ruben Trumpelmann 3-43); Namibia 135 for 2 in 26 overs (Michael van Lingen 71, Louren Steenkamp 35). Namibia won by eight wickets.

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