Namibia make history by beating Ireland, their first ODI series win against a full member

Namibia have touched a unique milestone in their cricket history. In Windhoek, they beat Ireland by five wickets in the final match of the five-match series to win the series 3-2 at home.

It is Namibia's first bilateral ODI series win against an ICC full-member country. The final match was effectively an unofficial final, as the series had been level before it.

In Sunday's series decider, Ireland, put in to bat after losing the toss, collapsed to just 129 runs in the face of Namibia's pace attack. Hosts' pacers JJ Smith and Jack Brassell bowled superbly and shared seven Irish wickets between them.

Left-arm pacer Smith in particular took four important wickets in his 9 overs. Namibia restricted their opponents to a low total on the strength of his destructive bowling, and that performance earned Smith the player of the match award.

Chasing a target of 130, opener Lauren Steenkamp gave Namibia a flying start. Batting calmly under pressure, he contributed an important innings of 42 runs.

Captain Gerhard Erasmus gave Steenkamp able support with a responsible 30 runs. On the strength of those two batters, the hosts reached the winning post losing five wickets, and the whole team celebrated a memorable victory.

Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus won the player of the series award for his consistency throughout the series. He led from the front, scoring a series-high 263 runs in five matches with the bat and also taking four wickets with the ball.

For Namibia, one of the co-hosts of next year's ODI World Cup, this historic series win will provide a major boost of confidence. Ireland have already secured a place in the main World Cup qualifier, while hosts Namibia will have to play the qualifier play-off in the race for a ticket to the main event.