Jan Frylinck is no ordinary player, he’s now part of an elite group after his show against Zimbabwe. And he’s sending a message to everyone else before the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier.
During Namibia’s 28-run win over Zimbabwe, Frylinck smashed a 13-ball fifty. That’s tied for the third-fastest fifty in men’s T20I history, according to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Captain Gerhard Erasmus decided to give Frylinck a go at opening the batting and he more than justified that decision in the final game of the three-match series in Bulawayo. He got to his fifty in no time and finished with 77 off 31 balls.
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That set the tone for Namibia’s innings and they got to 204/7 and set up the win.
Frylinck didn’t waste any time, he smashed Wellington Masakadza for three boundaries in the first over. Then he took on Blessing Muzarabani and hit him for 14 runs off three balls and was 29 not out after eight balls.
Trevor Gwandu was next to feel Frylinck’s wrath. In the fourth over Frylinck hit two fours and two sixes off the first four balls and got to his fifty. Then he hit another six off the fifth ball for good measure.
Frylinck was previously known for his fast bowling but he’s turned himself into a top-order batsman in both white-ball formats. This is his highest T20I score and surpasses his previous best of 57 not out against Kenya in 2023.
Frylinck now shares the record of a 13-ball fifty with Zimbabwe’s Tadiwanashe Marumani, Turkey’s Muhammad Fahad and Austria’s Mirza Ahsan. Only two players have got to a fifty faster than him: Yuvraj Singh (12 balls against England in 2007) and Dipendra Singh Airee (9 balls against Mongolia in the 2023 Asian Matches).
Despite the win Namibia lost the series 2-1. These matches were a good warm-up for both teams as they prepare for the final stage of the Africa T20 World Cup 2026 qualifier.They are in different groups in the eight-team tournament and are favourites to take the two spots from the region. But they will have Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania to contend with.
