Namibia's senior men's cricket team will be led by new captain Gerhard 'Merwe' Erasmus when they start their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 quest in the World Cricket League Division 2 (WCL2) tournament, slated for April.

The participating teams include, hosts Namibia, Canada, Hong Kong (China), Oman, the United States and Papua New Guinea.

The tournament will begin on April 20, with Canada taking on China's Hong Kong, Oman playing against the US, and hosts Namibia clashing with Papua New Guinea, reports Xinhua news agency.

The 14-man squad with Erasmus as captain was announced by Cricket Namibia on Sunday.

"During his time as a Namibian player, he was under the captaincy of Sarel Burger who retired last year. He has, therefore, had the perfect opportunity to learn from an outstanding captain. Cricket Namibia have total confidence in Erasmus. We wish him the best with this important milestone in his career," Cricket Namibia said.

The WCL2 competition will have important ramifications for qualification for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.

The top four teams from WCL2 will join Scotland, Nepal, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 (2019-21), and play 36 one-day internationals each over two-and-a-half years in 21 tri-series.

--IANS

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