Frylinck century puts Namibia 2-1 ahead of Ireland in ODI series

Namibia took a 2-1 lead in their five-match one-day international series against Ireland with a 63-run victory in Windhoek on Tuesday. Jan Frylinck's 126 helped the hosts reach 316-7 from their 50 overs, before Ireland's reply ended at 253 in 44.5 overs. Curtis Campher also made a century, but his innings could not rescue the tourists' chase.

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According to BBC Sport, Namibia chose to bat after winning the toss and lost Louren Steenkamp for 13 with the score on 33. Malan Kruger's dismissal for 42 left them 81-2. Frylinck and captain Gerhard Erasmus then rebuilt the innings together, taking the hosts beyond that early setback and establishing the platform for a total above 300.

Erasmus contributed 54, while Alex Volschenk added 36 to support Frylinck's hundred. RTÉ reported that Frylinck struck nine fours and four sixes during his innings. The combination of his substantial contribution and the supporting scores left Ireland needing 317 to win, with the hosts having used their full allocation of overs to set the target.

Ireland's reply was disrupted almost immediately. RTÉ reported that Cade Carmichael was dismissed lbw without scoring on the fifth delivery, before Andrew Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker fell from successive balls for 20 and 26 respectively. Those losses prevented the tourists from building a settled start. BBC Sport reported that Ireland subsequently found themselves four wickets down with only 56 runs scored.

Campher provided the main resistance, scoring 106 from 86 deliveries. According to RTÉ, he reached his second ODI hundred from 82 balls before being run out, with Ireland still needing 70 runs. The remaining batters could not close the gap, and the innings finished with 31 deliveries unused. His century had prolonged the contest without changing the result.

Ireland also had to cope without captain Paul Stirling in the batting order after he injured a finger while fielding, BBC Sport reported. The teams meet again on Friday and Sunday, leaving Ireland needing to win both remaining matches to take the series. The tour forms part of Ireland's preparations for next year's World Cup qualifiers.