Klaas Jan van Noortwijk and Feiko Kloppenburg hammered centuries as the Netherlands recorded their first one-day international victory beating Namibia in the World Cup on Monday.
The delighted Dutchmen ended their tournament with a 64-run victory after hammering 314 for four in the battle of the Group A minnows.
Van Noortwijk's run-a-ball 134 equalled the sixth highest individual score of the 2003 cup -- he was close to tears at the end of his innings -- while Kloppenburg made 121 as the pair put 228 for the second wicket.
No Dutchman had scored a World Cup century before.
The 32-year-old Van Noortwijk, favouring slashing off drives and hoists to midwicket, had scored the previous Dutch record of 64 runs in the 1996 World Cup against England but had only scored 20 in his previous three World Cup games before Monday.
Kloppenburg made sure of the man-of-the-match award, though, by taking four wickets for 42 from 10 overs with his right-arm medium pace.
Namibia made an enterprising reply but gradually fell behind the asking rate after their openers put on 76 by the 14th over. They were dismissed for 250 in 46.5 overs.
Dutch skipper and former Somerset and Glamorgan player Roland Lefebvre joined in the celebrations despite his personal disappointment.
Due to play in his last one-day international, the 40-year-old stalwart was ruled out of the game with a hamstring injury.
"I didn't play a part today but I'm a very happy man. I never thought our guys would score two fantastic centuries.
"We have loved every minute of the tournament and I hope we've showed the world we can play."
Namibia captain Deon Kotze said: "Their two guys played out of their boots. We gave everything we had and hopefully we'll qualify for the next World Cup and do even better."
Namibia, in their first World Cup, ended the tournament with six defeats in a row.
The Dutch, meanwhile, will be best remembered for agreeing to play Australia on a sub-standard pitch in Potchefstroom after rain water spilled onto the wicket. "You don't learn anything by sitting in the pavilion," Lefebvre had said.
© 2024 Rediff.com -