Namibia vs Ireland Match Scorecard, 2nd ODI: Erasmus 156* Levels Series 1-1
Namibia vs Ireland, 2nd ODI - Namibia won by 31 runs at the Namibia Cricket Ground, Windhoek, on Saturday, October 24, 2026, and levelled the five-match ODI series at 1-1. This is the full Namibia vs Ireland match scorecard, plus how the game turned. Namibia made 321 for 6 in 50 overs, built on captain Gerhard Erasmus's unbeaten 156. Ireland, chasing 322, were bowled out for 290 in 47.3 overs, despite captain Paul Stirling's 77 and a late fightback from Gavin Hoey.
If you only want the numbers, the scorecard tables below have them. If you want to know how Namibia won a game Ireland had in their hands twice, read on - Erasmus shaped it with the bat, and then again with the ball in the last over of the match.
Namibia vs Ireland match scorecard: quick answer table
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Match | Namibia vs Ireland, 2nd ODI, Ireland tour of Namibia 2026 |
| Date | Saturday, Oct 24, 2026 |
| Venue | Namibia Cricket Ground, Windhoek |
| Toss | Ireland won the toss and chose to field first (captain Paul Stirling) |
| Result | Namibia won by 31 runs |
| Namibia | 321 for 6 in 50 overs (6.42 runs per over) |
| Ireland | 290 all out in 47.3 overs (6.11 runs per over) |
| Player of the match | Gerhard Erasmus - 156 not out off 125 balls, plus 2 for 13 |
| Series | Five-match ODI series level 1-1 (Ireland won the 1st ODI by 55 runs) |
| Next match | 3rd ODI, Tuesday, Oct 27, 2026, in Windhoek |
| Watch in India | No India telecast or streaming listing was found in the sources we checked - fans followed this game through live scorecards and match centres |
Namibia innings: 321 for 6 (50 overs)
| Batter | How out | R | B | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael van Lingen | c Paul Stirling b Curtis Campher | 22 | 31 | 4 | 0 |
| Louren Steenkamp | c Lorcan Tucker b Byron McDonough | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jan Frylinck | c Jai Moondra b Gavin Hoey | 76 | 90 | 6 | 2 |
| Gerhard Erasmus (c) | not out | 156 | 125 | 14 | 4 |
| Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton | c Paul Stirling b Gavin Hoey | 15 | 22 | 1 | 0 |
| Zane Green (wk) | c Paul Stirling b Gavin Hoey | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Alexander Busing-Volschenk | c (sub Jordan Neill) b Jai Moondra | 30 | 20 | 3 | 1 |
| Jonathan Smit | not out | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras (wides 11, leg-byes 5) | 16 | ||||
| Total | 321 for 6 (50 overs) | ||||
Did not bat: Ruben Trumpelmann, Max Heingo, Jack Brassell.
Ireland bowling
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jai Moondra | 10 | 1 | 63 | 1 | 6.30 |
| Byron McDonough | 9 | 0 | 71 | 1 | 7.89 |
| Andy McBrine | 8 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 5.13 |
| Curtis Campher | 10 | 0 | 74 | 1 | 7.40 |
| Gavin Hoey | 10 | 0 | 53 | 3 | 5.30 |
| George Dockrell | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 4.67 |
Ireland innings: 290 all out (47.3 overs)
| Batter | How out | R | B | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Balbirnie | run out (Zane Green / sub Malan Kruger) | 22 | 34 | 2 | 0 |
| Paul Stirling (c) | lbw b Jack Brassell | 77 | 71 | 8 | 3 |
| Cade Carmichael | b Max Heingo | 12 | 22 | 1 | 0 |
| Harry Tector | b Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Lorcan Tucker (wk) | c Jonathan Smit b Jack Brassell | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Curtis Campher | c Zane Green b Jack Brassell | 45 | 45 | 2 | 1 |
| George Dockrell | c Zane Green b Jack Brassell | 48 | 48 | 5 | 2 |
| Andy McBrine | run out (Zane Green / Gerhard Erasmus) | 7 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Gavin Hoey | c Jack Brassell b Gerhard Erasmus | 31 | 21 | 0 | 3 |
| Jai Moondra | c & b Gerhard Erasmus | 20 | 19 | 2 | 0 |
| Byron McDonough | not out | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Extras (wides 18, leg-byes 4) | 22 | ||||
| Total | 290 all out (47.3 overs) | ||||
Namibia bowling
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Smit | 9 | 0 | 61 | 0 | 6.78 |
| Ruben Trumpelmann | 10 | 1 | 63 | 0 | 6.30 |
| Max Heingo | 8 | 0 | 48 | 1 | 6.00 |
| Jack Brassell | 10 | 0 | 52 | 4 | 5.20 |
| Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton | 7 | 0 | 49 | 1 | 7.00 |
| Gerhard Erasmus | 3.3 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 3.71 |
How Erasmus built Namibia's total
Stirling won the toss and put Namibia in, and for a while it looked like the right call. Louren Steenkamp gloved a short ball from Byron McDonough in the second over, and Michael van Lingen edged Curtis Campher to Stirling in the 11th over, leaving Namibia on 49 for 2. Ireland were again without leading seamer Mark Adair, but their attack was holding its shape.
Then Jan Frylinck and Erasmus rebuilt. They added 117 off 135 balls for the third wicket, playing carefully against tight spin, before Frylinck holed out to deep midwicket off leg-spinner Gavin Hoey in the 33rd over for 76 off 90 balls, with 6 fours and 2 sixes. Hoey also removed Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton and Zane Green, both caught by Stirling at short fine leg off top-edged sweeps, to finish with 3 for 53. At that point Namibia were 225 for 5, and Ireland would have felt they had pulled the game back.
Erasmus had other plans. He reached his fifty off 62 balls, his third ODI hundred off 108 balls in the 46th over, and then needed only 17 more balls to add 56. Namibia scored 111 in the last 10 overs, including 79 in the last five, as Ireland's seamers were punished - Campher's ninth over cost 19 and McDonough's went for 19 as well. Alexander Busing-Volschenk chipped in with 30 off 20 balls before he was caught in the final over. Erasmus finished on 156 not out off 125 balls, with 14 fours and 4 sixes, passing his previous one-day high of 125. It was a career-best knock, and it turned a par score into 321.
How Ireland's chase fell apart, twice
Ireland's openers put on 54 before Andy Balbirnie was run out for 22. Stirling, dropped twice in the deep and at point, reached his second successive fifty of the series and took the score to 98 for 1. Then Ireland lost four wickets for 27 runs. Max Heingo bowled Cade Carmichael, Loftie-Eaton beat Harry Tector with a leg-break that hit off stump, and Jack Brassell had Lorcan Tucker caught for a duck before trapping Stirling lbw for 77 off 71 balls, with 8 fours and 3 sixes, to leave Ireland on 125 for 5 in the 25th over.
George Dockrell, struck on the helmet by Brassell soon after arriving, and Curtis Campher rebuilt with a stand of 85. Brassell broke it when Campher was caught behind for 45, and Dockrell fell for 48 two overs later. Andy McBrine was run out for seven, and at 233 for 8 the chase looked done. Brassell finished as Namibia's leading bowler with 4 for 52, also dismissing Tucker, Dockrell and Campher.
But Ireland were still not done. Gavin Hoey, who had already been Ireland's best bowler with 3 for 53, hit three sixes in his 31 off 21 balls and added 57 for the ninth wicket with Jai Moondra, bringing the target down to 34 off the last 18 balls. Erasmus brought himself back and ended the game in the 48th over, taking a return catch to dismiss Moondra for 20 and then having Hoey caught at short fine leg. Ireland were bowled out for 290, and Erasmus had shaped the game twice - first by building the total, then by closing out the innings just as Ireland's tail threatened an unlikely recovery.
One small note on the numbers: one report puts that ninth-wicket stand at 58 rather than 57. The scorecard totals above are the same in every source we checked, so we have gone with 57 from the most detailed match report and flagged the difference here rather than hiding it.
Series context and what comes next
This was the second game of a five-match ODI series, and it was a big swing. Ireland had won the low-scoring opener on Wednesday, October 21, by 55 runs - they made 229 for 9 and bowled Namibia out for 174 in 37.5 overs, with Hoey taking three wickets in that game too. A second win would have put Ireland 2-0 up with three games to play. Instead, Erasmus's innings has pulled the series back to 1-1, and the momentum has shifted to the hosts.
For Ireland, the worry is the death bowling and the middle-order collapse. Their seamers went for 71 and 74 in McDonough's and Campher's spells, and the chase lost four wickets for 27 runs just when Stirling looked set. For Namibia, the question is whether anyone else can support Erasmus when he does not produce a knock like this - Frylinck's 76 was the only other fifty of the match for the hosts.
The series continues in Windhoek on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, with the 3rd ODI, as Ireland build towards next year's World Cup qualifiers. With the series tied at 1-1, that game decides who takes the lead into the back half of the series.
Our verdict
This was Erasmus's game from start to finish. His 156 not out was the difference between a chaseable total and 321, and his two wickets in the 48th over were the difference between a famous Ireland tail-end win and a 31-run defeat. Stirling's 77 and Hoey's all-round effort - 3 for 53 and 31 off 21 balls - deserved a closer finish, but Namibia's late surge with the bat and Brassell's four wickets in the middle overs were too much. If you are picking fantasy sides for the 3rd ODI, Erasmus and Hoey are the two names to build around first.
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Sources
Cricbuzz match report ("Gerhard Erasmus stars with 156* as Namibia level series"), CricTracker full scorecard (Namibia vs Ireland, 2nd ODI, Oct 24, 2026), CricketDaily match report (Namibia vs Ireland, 2nd ODI), BBC Sport report on the match (via World Right Now), and KhelNow live scorecard (Namibia vs Ireland, Oct 24, 2026). Scorecard figures cross-checked between CricTracker and Cricbuzz/KhelNow; the only difference found was the ninth-wicket stand figure noted above.