Namibia win toss and field against New Zealand

SHARJAH: Namibia won the toss and put semi-final hopefuls New Zealand into bat in their T20 World Cup clash on Friday.

New Zealand are battling with Afghanistan and India for a last-four place with Group 2 winners Pakistan already through to the knock-out round.

“Looks like a typical Sharjah surface of late, so we are looking forward to putting on some runs,” said New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson.

The Black Caps are unchanged as they seek a third win of the Super 12 stage which would put the pressure back on to India who face Scotland later Friday.

Namibia, the lowest-ranked side at the tournament, have made two changes with Karl Birkenstock and Bernard Scholtz replacing Jan Frylinck and Ben Shikongo.

“The pitch looks good and small dimensions make it difficult to defend,” said Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus whose team have one win to their name after beating Scotland.

Namibia: Stephan Baard, Michael van Lingen, Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus (capt), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Zane Green (wkt), Karl Birkenstock, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (capt), Devon Conway (wkt), Glenn Phillips, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult

Umpires: Paul Reiffel (AUS) and Paul Wilson (AUS)

TV Umpire: Ahsan Raza (BAN)

Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)