Full name Matheus Christiaan van Zyl
Born April 6, 1980, Grootfontein
Current age 28 years 185 days
Major teams Namibia
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium-fast
Batting and fielding averages
Mat
Inns
NO
Runs
HS
Ave
BF
SR
100
50
Ct
St
First-class
15
23
10
259
50
19.92
576
44.96
0
1
11
1
List A
14
7
5
50
18*
25.00
0
0
5
0
Bowling averages
Mat
Balls
Runs
Wkts
BBI
BBM
Ave
Econ
SR
4w
5w
10
First-class
15
1541
952
31
8/34
30.70
3.70
49.7
0
1
0
List A
14
506
496
12
4/17
4/17
41.33
5.88
42.1
1
0
0
Career statistics
First-class debut
2005
Last First-class
Northerns v Namibia at Pretoria, Feb 21-22, 2008 scorecard
List A debut
2005
Last List A
Northerns v Namibia at Pretoria, Feb 24, 2008 scorecard
Profile
Career-best figures of 8 for 34 against Ireland in Dublin during an Intercontinental Cup match really served to make a name for Ian Van Zyl among Namibian cricket watchers, but he has struggled to reach such heights since.
He began his career as a medium-fast bowler, but a fully fledged No. 11. Over time his batting has improved enough for Namibia to occasionally use him as a pinch-hitter in short formats of the game, although he remains more likely to be seen swinging at the end of an innings.
He bowls with good control and remains part of the Namibian squad for the Intercontinental Cup in 2007, but he will need more performances like he had in May 2006 if he is to keep some of the younger Namibian bowlers out of the side.