Despite a valiant half-century from Dewald Brevis and a late fightback from debutant Duan Jansen, South Africa were unable to chase down Namibia’s competitive 163/9, slipping to 145/9 in their 20 overs.

It was another bitter pill to swallow for the Proteas, who were beaten 4 wickets by their neighbours in a World Cup warm-up match in October last year.

Jan Frylinck - Cricinfo

Namibia, playing in front of a home crowd at the Namibia Cricket Ground, made the most of winning the toss and batting first, putting together a solid 163/9 from their allotted 20 overs.

Jan Frylinck was the star with the bat, producing a superbly crafted 60 off 38 balls to anchor the Namibian innings. He received excellent support from Lourens Steenkamp, who smashed 41 off 29 deliveries as the pair put on an impressive 84-run opening partnership.

Captain Gerhard Erasmus chipped in with a useful 19, which proved to be Namibia’s only other meaningful contribution with the bat.

Louren Steenkamp - Cricinfo

However, those runs were enough to put the hosts firmly in the driving seat.

Dolphins spinner Prenelan Subrayen was the pick of the South African attack, returning excellent figures of 3/32 in his four overs, while captain Bjorn Fortuin also impressed with 2/17 from his full complement.

South Africa’s chase got off to a shaky start as the Proteas lost three wickets for just 39 runs after seven overs.

Jordan Hermann was dismissed for seven, Lhuan-Dré Pretorius made nine and Tony de Zorzi also fell for nine, leaving the visitors with a mountain to climb.

Ruben Hermann briefly steadied the innings, but his 12 off nine balls did little to shift the momentum back in South Africa’s favour.

Brevis, however, refused to go quietly.

The talented youngster played a brilliant counter-attacking innings, smashing 75 off 50 balls to keep the Proteas within touching distance of the target.

Potchefstroom born-and-bred Duan Jansen took 2/32 on debut for South Africa - Cricinfo

Debutant Duan Jansen then provided a late injection of energy, cracking an unbeaten 35 off just 16 balls and showing plenty of promise on the international stage.

But with too much ground to make up, South Africa’s late charge ultimately fell short. They finished on 145/9, 18 runs adrift of the hosts.

Ruben Trumpelmann spearheaded Namibia’s bowling attack with outstanding figures of 3/24, while JJ Smit also claimed 3/31 from his four overs.

Dewald Brevis and Duan Jansen - Cricinfo

For Fortuin, the defeat was a frustrating reminder that the Proteas had failed to make the most of key moments.

“Very disappointed - Namibia played well,” said Fortuin.

“Hope to pull up our socks because 20-30 runs too much, we lost our way with the powerplay with the ball. It's all about adapting better next game.

Ruben Trumpelmann took 3/24 - Cricinfo

“There is not much time to lick our wounds, hope to put our best foot forward tomorrow vs Zimbabwe.”

The Proteas will have little time to dwell on the defeat, with Zimbabwe waiting in the wings on Saturday.

South Africa will need a significant improvement with both bat and ball against a Zimbabwean side expected to provide an even sterner test. The first ball in Windhoek is scheduled for 14:00.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport