T20 World Cup: Five Young Associate Talents to Keep an Eye On
A number of talented youngsters of the Associate cricket world are looking to make their marks in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Cricket lovers rejoice! The five-year wait for the T20 World Cup is finally over with the tournament set to get underway on 17th October. Originally scheduled for 2020, the tournament had to be postponed by a year due to the difficulties posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Nonetheless, the delay has served as a blessing in disguise in many respects; namely the forced change of hosts. It allows the Associate nations of Oman and UAE to get their first taste of staging an ICC World Cup event. And for those tired of seeing the Big 3 boards of India, Australia and England host everything, a tournament in the Middle East represents a welcome change of scenery and an overdue hastening towards realising cricket’s global ambitions.
With three Full Members and five Associate teams squaring off in the First Round, there are plenty of mouth-watering fixtures to look forward to, and plenty of young talent to keep an eye on. In this article, we profile 5 of the most talented associate youngsters taking part.
With the tournament further expanding to 20 teams from 2024, these young guns will receive plenty of opportunities to make their mark on the global stage for years to come.
Unfortunately, with an ageing team and an average squad age of 32.2 years (oldest in the tournament), no Omani player makes the cut. Also, honourable mention to 20-year-old Dutch leg spinner Phillipe Boissevain who just missed out on the list below.
Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Namibia — Age: 21
An enterprising left-handed batting allrounder, Loftie-Eaton made the senior Namibian men’s squad on the back of eye-catching numbers in the domestic circuit. Yet to replicate his domestic exploits in the international arena, Loftie-Eaton is nevertheless the perfect T20 package. He even bowls his right arm leg spin in an action reminiscent of ‘T20 Cricketer of the Decade’ Rashid Khan.
Loftie-Eaton has previously represented Namibia at the U-19 Cricket World Cup in 2018 alongside Ben Shikongo (both are also in the T20 World Cup Squad). He is one of several talented young Namibian players such as Michael van Lingen and Ruben Trumpelmann, looking to cement their places in the national team in the future.
Fun Fact: Loftie-Eaton once smashed six consecutive centuries in the U-17 division of APS Cricket Festival in 2018.
Nosaina Pokana, Papua New Guinea — Age: 25
Nosaina Pokana is a key figure for the plucky Papua New Guineans; who reached the T20 World Cup on the back of a fairytale run at the 2019 Qualifiers. He played an instrumental part, finishing as the joint-highest wicket-taker for his team at a stellar economy rate of 7.31.
In a squad chock full of mediocre albeit serviceable all-rounders, the tall left-arm medium pacer stands out as one of the rare specialists. Still only 25 years old, Pokana has been playing for the Barramundis since his debut in 2016. He possesses an excellent T20I record with 19 wickets at an average of 17.26 and is unquestionably the leader of the pace attack.
If PNG stand any chance of making the second round, Pokana needs to be in top form. The Barramundis will be heavily reliant on his bowling nous to make inroads against opposition (Bangladesh, Oman and Scotland) and hopefully notch up a win or two.
Fun Fact: Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, PNG have not been able to play a single T20I since 2019 (up until the warm-up tournament). Furthermore, they come into the tournament on the back of wretched form in the 50 over format, having lost all their games in the Cricket World Cup League 2 competition.
Bas de Leede, Netherlands — Age: 21
Highly rated by coach Ryan Campbell, the 21-year old is practically descended from Dutch cricketing royalty. The de Leede family has played a prominent part in the Netherlands’ cricket scene for many decades. Bas’ father Tim played in three ODI Cricket World Cups and is most celebrated for taking the prized scalp of Sachin Tendulkar at the 2007 edition. Bas’ grandfather Frans was also a keen cricketer and umpire; while his cousin Babette currently represents the Netherlands women’s team.
A classy middle order batter, part-time medium pacer and an exceptional fielder, Bas made his debut for the senior team at the tender age of 18. Initially pigeonholed as a longer format player, his coming of age innings occurred in the Nepal Tri-Nation T20I Series earlier this year. Chasing Nepal’s 206, he hit a blistering 81 not out of 42 balls, showing off his hitherto undiscovered power game and guiding the Dutch to a thrilling 3 wicket victory.
With a middle order full of seasoned county professionals, Bas is unlikely to feature for the Dutch starting XI at the upcoming T20 World Cup. Nevertheless, he is already contracted by the KNCB and is widely perceived as a future leader of Dutch cricket.
Hamza Tahir, Scotland — Age: 25
Left-arm orthodox spinner Hamza Tahir has made a stunning start to his career since making his debut in 2018. An ODI bowling average of 21.33 and a T20I average of 19.55 speak volumes about the sort of consistent performances that he has put in across the two white ball formats.
With his low arm action and flattish bowling trajectory, Tahir relies more on subtle variations rather than outrageous spin to deceive batters. It’s a trait that he shares with compatriot Mark Watt. Affectionately dubbed “the spin twins” due to their same age and bowling styles, it’s Tahir’s superior ODI record that sees him pip Watt to this list.
Interestingly, Tahir has not played T20I cricket since the 2019 Qualifiers; with the Scots preferring Watt in the recent T20I series against Zimbabwe at home. However, Tahir continues to feature in every game of the ongoing 50 over CWCL2 matches in Oman; so he definitely won’t be short of match practice. With the conditions at Al Amerat unlikely to change next month, expect Scotland to unleash the “spin twins” against opposition batters again at the World Cup.
Fun Fact: Tahir is the cousin of former Scotland spinner Majid Haq; who represented Scotland from 2002 to 2015 and played in two ODI and two T20 World Cups.
Ben Shikongo, Namibia — Age: 21
Hailing from the village of Ongombesa, in the remote far-north of Namibia, 21 year old Ben Shikongo is a trailblazer in many ways. The skiddy right-arm pacer broke into the national Under-19 team at the tender age of 16 and made his senior debut a couple of years later. He is one of only a handful players of colour to have ever represented Namibia at the international level, despite black Namibians making up 87% of the total population.
Shikongo however is keen to break the mould and will be looking to make the World Cup starting XI in a competitive Namibian squad. His T20I numbers so far bear justice to his talent and potential (12 wickets at an average of 14.91 and an economy rate under 6). With Cricket Namibia making special efforts to improve participation and accessibility through rural areas, Shikongo’s success could well inspire a new generation of black Namibian athletes to take up cricket as a sport.
Fun Fact: Growing up, Shikongo had to overcome immense pressure from his family and friends who thought that playing cricket was a “waste of time” and that he should concentrate on football instead.
