Lotter, Vijayakumar bag top honours

Namibia's Gerhard Lotter and Botswana opener Varun Vijayakumar won top honours at the end of the ICC Africa U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in Windhoek.

Lotter, also a rugby and hockey international, batted consistently to help Namibia top the tournament standings. On the other hand, Vijayakumar was voted the best batsman.

Speaking on the occasion, CEO of Africa Cricket Association (ACA), Cassim Sulliman, applauded Namibia for winning the tournament.

"The standard of cricket played throughout the tournament was excellent. You certainly have raised the bar and we in the ACA family would like to urge you to keep it up. Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate both Namibia and Kenya for qualifying for the next round of the youth World Cup qualifiers," was quoted as saying by New Era.

President of the Namibia Cricket Board (NCB), Francois Erasmus, said proper preparation carried Namibia through. "This team has a great potential to become world beaters if the level of discipline and determination demonstrated in this tournament is anything to by. Overall, the competition was extremely tough among the top six nations."