Canada qualified for the Super 8 phase of the ICC World Cup Qualifying Competition thanks to a third straight win. Saturday's success came in Pretoria against Namibia by an emphatic 141 run margin. Former captain, John Davison, lead the charge with an imposing innings of 131 runs from 98 balls. He was well supported by Ian Billcliff's 61 runs and left-hander Geoff Barnett's 46 as Canada amassed 314 all out (49.5 overs).
Namibia's early batting crumbled in the face of this stiff batting challenge. The game swung heavily in favour of the land of the Maple Leaf when the potentially match-winning Gerrie Snyman was dismissed to leave Namibia on 42 runs for 4 wickets. The loss of two more wickets for the addition of just a single run effectively clinched the match. Sarel Burger battled his way to make 75 runs, the only top order batsman to make an impression, and number ten Ian van Zyl struck a defiant 48 before being out last as his side totalled 178 runs. Van Zyl took 4 wickets in the Canadian innings.
Canada next meets Ireland, on Monday at Willowmoore Park, Benoni, in the battle for supremacy in Group A. Both sides have 3 wins from 3 matches. Ireland overpowered Uganda , passing the African side's 155 all out with 19 overs to spare.
Davison was delighted that the first objective of reaching the Super 8's had been achieved, adding 'it would be great to knock off both Ireland and Scotland. I fully believe we can do that if we play this sort of cricket. I think we can go all the way.'
A way that would lead to a World Cup 2011 place and a place in the final of this qualifier at the Centurion ground where Davison hit fame with the then fastest century in World Cup cricket history against the West Indies in 2003.
Canada's group matches conclude on Wednesday with a game against Scotland.