Namibia chased down the modest target of 130 runs in the 22nd over with five wickets in hand in the fifth ODI to win the series. Louren Steenkamp (46) and skipper Gerhard Erasmus (30) steered them in the run chase. But it was their bowlers who set up the victory in the decider.

Ireland lost wickets at regular intervals after opting to bat first. JJ Smit was the star for the hosts at the High Performance Oval in Windhoek. He picked up four wickets for just 20 runs in nine overs, including three maidens. 

Jack Brassell supported him well, accounting for three wickets for just 15 runs as Ireland were skittled out for 129 in the 34th over. All of Ireland’s middle-order batters Cade Carmichael (27), Harry Tector (21) and skipper Lorcan Tucker (20) got starts, but none could kick on to score big.

Jordan Neill, batting at number eight, top-scored for the visitors, smashing 33 runs off 25 deliveries and helped them cross three figures.

ICC men’s ODI team rankings: Updated table after Namibia’s 3-2 win over Ireland

Namibia remained in 16th place in the ICC men’s ODI rankings despite a historic series win over Ireland but gained four rating points. This has helped them reduce the gap with 15th-placed USA to five points. 

Meanwhile, Ireland slipped from 12th to 13th in the rankings, losing seven rating points after a series defeat to Namibia.

Rank

Team

Matches

Points

Rating

1

India

36

4122

115

2

New Zealand

35

3809

109

3

South Africa

34

3547

104

4

Pakistan

37

3838

104

5

Australia

35

3568

102

6

Afghanistan

31

2926

94

7

Sri Lanka

44

4144

94

8

England

38

3530

93

9

Bangladesh

41

3304

81

10

West Indies

37

2924

79

11

Zimbabwe

21

1315

63

12

Scotland

28

1260

45

13

Ireland

21

932

44

14

Netherlands

33

1412

43

15

USA

30

1228

41

16

Namibia

31

1131

36

17

Nepal

37

1108

30

18

Oman

30

589

20

19

UAE

33

594

18

20

Canada

26

307

12

Image Credit: Official_Cricket Namibia/Instagram

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