Namibia are no longer the ‘Sleeping Giants’ of Associate cricket, they have established themselves as one of the forces to reckon with in the big boys league. Be it beating Sri Lanka in the 2021 T20 World Cup or crushing the hopes of their neighbours, South Africa, in a T20I contest, Gerhard Erasmus’ men have been at the forefront of a cricketing revolution in the country.
An integral member of that contingent and someone who has set world records for fun is Nicol Loftie-Eaton, who shot to limelight in 2024, when he smashed the then fastest T20I century – a 33-ball effort against Nepal. However, a few months later, all those efforts seemed futile when the youngster was left out of the country’s World Cup plans.
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Two years on from that dreaded incident, Loftie-Eaton is back in the setup and is expected to play a much more crucial role in India and Sri Lanka when Namibia take on India, Pakistan, the USA, and the Netherlands.
In an exclusive chat with Crichub, Loftie-Eaton opens up about Namibia’s preparation, that record-setting century in Nepal, new head coach Craig Williams, the disappointment of missing out in 2024, and much more.
The CricHub (CH): How has the preparation for the T20 World Cup going on?
Nicol Loftie-Eaton [NLE] : Yeah, so we flew out to Cape Town [South Africa], I think, four days ago [Jan
7]. We’ve got a training camp here. It’s been going well. We had a lovely hike this morning [Jan 11], team bonding experience. So apart from that, the cricket preparation has also been pretty good. I think we’ve got another six more days here. We fly out to Dubai for World Cup prep from January 22 to 29. From there, we head to Bengaluru for our two warm-ups against the West Indies and Bangladesh.
CH: On a personal level, it must have been disappointing for you to miss out on the T20 World Cup in the US and the Caribbean. As a result, are you hungrier to have a bigger impact this time around?
NLE: Yeah, obviously, it was a big disappointment missing out. I think there would have been a lot of eyes on me during last year’s World Cup. But yeah, it’s just that little bit of extra motivation, I believe. Like you mentioned, that little bit of hunger or extra bit of hunger. I don’t have to prove a point, but yeah, I’m ready to showcase my talent to the world this time.
CH: Now that you’re back on the team and it’s been over a year, could you just tell me what exactly led up to you not being included in the squad? Given that you just scored the then fastest T20I century. What was your initial reaction when you were not picked?
NLE: I’m not too sure if I can go into too much details, to be honest. But yeah, there was disciplinary issue from my side. Cricket Namibia had to take the necessary steps. I think both Cricket Namibia and myself are in a better place since that happened. It was a lot of disappointment [not getting picked]. The reaction was probably a bit emotional, I’d say, ‘A bit heartbroken’. Especially like you mentioned, after scoring that hundred. So there would have been plenty of eyes on me. But yeah, look, the conversations just, they basically said, listen, you’re not going to make it due to the disciplinary issues. I totally understood that, accepted it and moved on from it. So ultimately, I’m a much better person than I was.
CH: Now about the then fastest T20I ton, it was quite a knock; could you trace back to that innings? What was your mindset like? Did you have an inkling that you were going to do well?
NLE: Yeah, look, when I walked into bat, I think we were about 50/3 [62/3] or something. I thought to myself, look, it’s a good wicket, small ground. So if it’s there, just hit it. And I think when I hit my second ball, I got a leg side delivery from Gulsan Jha and I picked it up over fine leg for six and something in me just clicked that day. Like, they always speak about the flow state we go into and from that ball, I just walked up to Malan Kruger and told him, ‘Listen, I’m going after them today.’ So I think it’s just one of those days you get as an athlete. It happens so rarely. So you have to cash in when it does.
CH: There was some really insane hitting in that innings. You’re a power-hitter, you come in the middle order, you’re expected to finish off games for the team. What sort of work goes behind that?
NLE: I think the main thing is just backing myself. I believe I’ve always been someone who likes to score in different areas than other guys, like reverse sweep, those things. So I think it’s just about backing myself. Preparation is also important. Just train it as much as possible and when you get into the ground, you have to believe that you have done the work. So you have to believe in that prep you’ve done before, and I think that day, it just paid off.
CH: You had another stint with Nepal recently when you played in the NPL [Nepal Premier League] with the Chitwan Rhinos and Janakpur Bolts. How was the experience of playing the NPL, and do you see NPL blossoming into a big league?
NLE: It’s a massive league. [Gerhard] Erasmus [Namibia captain] always speaks about it being the associate IPL. I agree 100% with him. You have 12,000-15,000 people at the ground, massively cheering for the team. NPL is probably the best thing that could happen for Nepal cricket, and of course, the associate cricket, as we get to compete with all the top players.
CH: Craig Williams recently joined the Namibian team as the coach, in a long list of incredible coaches. How has it been having him back with the squad in the lead-up to the World Cup? How has he sort of integrated with the unit after his stint with the Ugandan team in 2024?
NLE: I just want to start off by saying what an amazing cricketer he was. So I think the step into coaching was quite easy for him, just because of how good he was as a cricketer. He did an amazing job with Uganda. Coming into our team, all kudos to Pierre de Bruyn. He was very good for Cricket Namibia. But after six years, I think that a fresh breath of air was required when Craig Williams joined us; it was probably the best thing that happened to us.
You could see with the results that followed, we had two out of three wins in the CWC League 2 in Canada and then we got obviously qualified straight after that for the T20 World Cup this year in India and Sri Lanka. And then, that famous win under him as well against South Africa. It’s just a fresh breath of air. I think it gave a lot of the players, it gave a lot of the guys the confidence back when he joined because we played together, we know each other.
CH: Namibia are no strangers to taking on the big teams. You’ve beaten Sri Lanka in the past as well. How confident is the team in terms of toppling India or Pakistan in the group?
NLE: T20 cricket is a funny game. So I think anything can happen on a given day. It’s about that belief when you wake up on that given day. So it’s a funny story with a South African game we had recently. Zane Green and I spoke about it during the week, and we asked each other, ‘Are you confident that we’re going to beat them this weekend?’ and we were both like, ‘Yeah, there’s a chance.’ We weren’t 100% confident, though. And that morning when we rocked up to the ground, I looked at him, and I told him, ‘We’re beating them today’. And it just comes down to that belief. Like you said, we beat Sri Lanka
in that 2022 World Cup. They were Asian champions at that stage. So beating India, Pakistan, anything is possible in my opinion.
CH: Any particular player or players you’re looking forward to facing against particularly,
and why?
NLE: Yeah, I’m quite excited to look at SKY [Suryakumar Yadav] again. Just the way he plays in T20 cricket, I mean, his record speaks for itself. I believe we have a similar type of mindset for cricket. So just to pick his brain a little bit would be quite interesting for me.
We encountered him in 2021 in Dubai in the T20 World Cup as well, where he scored a brisk 30-odd [25 off 19] or something. And just the way he went about it, it’s quite eye-opening. So I think he’s the one I’m looking forward to the most.
CH: Now, a little about your journey in cricket, I know you were part of the Namibian U-15
team. You are now playing at the highest level for them. Where did the love of the game begin for you? Who inspired you?
NLE: My dad used to play a little bit of cricket as well. He played for Namibia U-19 at that time. Then he went to South Africa to university, played there a little bit. My brother also used to play for Namibia. I think he played about 10 professional games.
I think his last game was in 2018 or something. So obviously, it comes from the family and just playing in the back garden and stuff, playing with mates and those things. But then, I started training with our late manager, Dayanand Thakur, who used to be a national team coach for Namibia as well. I started training with him from the age of four, five. That’s where I knew that I want to do this for the rest of my life.
CH: As you mentioned earlier, you guys hosted South Africa also for the first time in Namibia. Right now, there’s the Under-19 World Cup that’s going to be played in Namibia. And next year, you’re going to host the main 50-over World Cup. Where do you think such tournaments put Namibia among the top cricketing destinations?
NLE: It’s massive for the growth. Unfortunately, our Under-19s couldn’t qualify for this year’s World Cup. It would have been quite nice to go support them at the ground. I mean, that day we played South Africa, it’s the first time we’ve had more than probably 500 people at a cricket game. 4,000 tickets were sold, and the stadium was packed. Cricket has definitely grown in Namibia.
It’s becoming the people’s choice. So I think, I think in the next few years, especially with the backing we get from the ICC hosting this 2026 Under-19 World Cup, and obviously co-hosting [ODI World Cup along with] South Africa and Zimbabwe next year. I just think it shows you that the ICC are willing to back us as a nation.
We’re the first associate nation to ever host [an ODI World Cup] or co-host. It just shows you that there’s a future for it, which makes it a little bit better; you see little girls and boys playing cricket in the street.
CH: Cricket in Namibia, specifically, is just going to go sky high from here, to be honest. The last time Namibia played in a 50-over World Cup was back in 2003. You were just probably two or three years old. Have you heard stories from people about Namibia’s World Cup tales, any interesting stories there?
NLE: Cricket Namibia’s president, Dr Rudi van Vuuren, also played in that 2003 World Cup. And he just always speaks about taking Sachin’s [Tendulkar] wicket, which is, I mean, as any cricketer, that’s probably one of your biggest dreams to be able to get out someone like him. So I think it’s looking back at those years, it’s ultimately where we want to be as a cricketing nation again, competing against the best in the world.
(Pramod Ananth is a cricket journalist focused on Associate cricket, bringing in-depth coverage of emerging teams, tournaments, and the global growth of the game. He tweets his opinion @pramz on X)
