Jai Moondra, with Ireland’s best figures in a one-day international, was the star of the team’s best bowling performance of the tour as they levelled the five-match series ahead of Sunday’s final game on Sunday in Windhoek.

Defending an above par total of 298 for eight, Moondra took three wickets in his opening spell to reduce Namibia to 32 for three and after a frustrating eighth wicket partnership of 64, he returned to end that one with his fifth delivery.
The Indian-born paceman then wrapped up the innings with the final two wickets, to give him figures of six for 26. Only two other bowlers had taken six wickets for Ireland in an ODI, Josh Little (6-36) against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2023 and Paul Stirling (6-56) against Afghanistan in Greater Noida six years earlier.

The victory margin was a huge 130 runs, Ireland biggest in an ODI since the 2023 World Cup qualifier when they scored 349 for four against UAE, the last time Paul Stirling scored a century.

Stirling missed this game – ruled out of the last two games by a broken finger – but his replacement stood up and finished as the game’s top scorer. Tim Tector, on his ODI debut, took advantage of two missed chances to hit 73, from 81 balls, with seven fours and three sixes.

After the loss of Andrew Balbirnie and Cade Carmichael he dominated a third wicket stand of 75 with his much more experienced brother. Harry’s contribution was just 10 and although Tim was first out, third time unlucky offering a catch to slip, the former top five ranked batter could add only five more singles before he chopped on, to put him out of his latest miserable innings. He has scored 55 runs in the series, from exactly 100 balls and hit only four boundaries.

When captain Lorcan Tucker followed for his second 28 of the series – yet another top order batter who has got starts but failed to go on – Ireland were 171 for four at the start of the 38th over. The reliable pairing of Curtis Campher and George Dockrell, however, were now together and they duly added 89 from 63 balls. Campher, in the form of his life, passed 50 for the fourth time in six innings to make 66 off 50 balls with two fours and six sixes, while Dockrell stayed to the finish, although yet again missing out on a half-century, finishing 47 not out from 34 balls.

Jordan Neill, another change from the third game – he replaced Andy McBrine who remains stuck on 99 ODIs – hit a quickfire 14, with two sixes and Liam McCarthy finished the innings with a flick for four – a six would have given him his highest ODI score!

Moondra could perhaps consider himself fortunate to get a wicket in his second over, the umpire adjudging that Malan Kruger had touched a pulled shot into Tucker’s gloves. The batter’s reaction indicated nothing of the sort but with no DRS in the series – and the umpiring has not been good – Kruger had to walk, just as captain Gerhard Erasmus has to do later when given out leg before to McCarthy to a ball that hit him on the thigh pad.

That left Namibia 45 for five with Campher taking the other early wicket, a second catch at slip by Balbirnie and much more straightforward than the superb diving catch which accounted for Jan Frylinck and gave Moondra his second wicket. His third was opening batter Louren Steenkamp, a good short ball which he could only fend to backward point.

Neill had south paw Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton caught behind – no dispute about him getting a touch to this pull shot – and Ireland’s other wicket-taker was Matthew Humphreys, back in the ODI side for the first time in 20 months – for Gavin Hoey - but, seven matches in, he is still struggling in this format. It was only his second wicket and they have cost 131 runs each.

But this was Moondra’s day and, on his return, he wrecked the stumps of both Zane Green (45) and big hitting Ruben Trumpelmann (40 off 34, with three fours and three sixes). The latter gave him his five-for from the first ball of his eighth over but he had to wait until his 60th and final ball to claim his record-breaking sixth, Jack Brassell caught at mid-wicket by Dockrell.

A fitting way to set up the series decider with the Full Member nation anxious to assert their superiority.