Scotland U19 vs Namibia U19 Prediction: Both teams are winless in group

Scotland U19 and Namibia U19 are going head to head in the 32nd Match of ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup at Senwes SPORT PARK, Potchefstroom, South Africa on 01 Feb 2024. Both the teams are winless in the group stages in the competition. Who will win this game of cricket?

Scotland's U19 boys faced significant challenges during the group stages of the competition. Being placed in a group with strong teams like West Indies, South Africa, and England, it was anticipated that Scotland would struggle. They indeed faced difficulties in all three games against these teams. However, there were some positive aspects to take away from these matches. Despite experiencing a significant defeat in their last match against South Africa U19s, Scotland performed well, especially in batting, where they managed to score 269 runs while losing nine wickets in fifty overs. This has boosted their confidence as they prepare to face Namibia U19. In their game against South Africa, the Scotland U19 bowling attack took three wickets, with Adi Hegde taking one and Nikhil Koteeswaran taking two. Despite Logan Brigs conceding many runs in their previous contest, his skill in left-arm spin could potentially pose challenges for the Namibian team.

Jamie Dunk, Adi Hegde, Alec Price, Owen Gould (c) (wk), Uzair Ahmad, Bahadar Esakhiel, Rory Grant, Logan Briggs, Nikhil Koteeswaran, Wasim Khan, Ruaridh McIntyre

The Namibian U19 team was placed in Group C of the tournament, which was considered a challenging group due to the presence of strong teams like Australia, Zimbabwe, and Sri Lanka. Despite not securing any points, the Namibians performed reasonably well and came close to victory, particularly in their match against Australia U19. They posed difficulties for the Australian team with their bowling skills. The upcoming match against Scotland U19 is expected to be another tough encounter. However, the main issue faced by the Namibian team in the group stages was their ability to score runs. Their batting performance was weak, as evident from their low total of 91 runs against Australia U19 and 56 runs against Sri Lanka. They did, however, manage to reach a three-figure score in their last game, and they are determined to achieve a big score of over 200 runs in the upcoming contest. On the bowling front, the Namibian players took a total of sixteen wickets against Australia and Sri Lanka. Despite setting a target of 147 runs for a victory against Zimbabwe, many believed that Namibia had the potential to challenge them. However, this was not the case, as the Namibians could only take two wickets during Zimbabwe's chase.

Gerhard Janse van Rensburg, Johannes de Villiers, Johannes Visagie (wk), Zacheo Vuuren, Alexander Busing-Volschenk (c), Ben Brassell, Jack Brassell, Peter-Daniel Blignaut, Hanro Bradenhorst, Woutie Niehaus

In the adult competition, there have been a total of twenty-one one-day international games played at this venue. Out of these, the team batting first has emerged victorious in seven matches, while the team batting second has won thirteen games.

The wicket at Willowmoore Park is expected to favor the batsmen, requiring the bowlers to put in extra effort to take wickets. This applies to both innings of the game. To ensure a sense of security, it is likely that the team batting first will aim to score more than 210 runs.

During the contest, we anticipate bright and sunny conditions with temperatures ranging from 26 to 29 degrees. The relative humidity will be low, indicating dry conditions throughout the game. The chances of rainfall during the contest are minimal.

Both teams have faced tough defeats in their last three games during the competition's Group stages. However, overall, the Scotland team has exhibited better cricketing performance in the league stages of the tournament. Therefore, we expect the Scotland U19 team to be the favorites in this game.