| Gerhard Erasmus | |
| Country: | Namibia |
| Fullname: | Merwe Gerhard Erasmus |
| Birth Date: | 11 April 1995 |
| Birth Place: | Windhoek, Namibia |
| Heightm: | 1.89 |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Bowling: | Right-arm off break |
| Role: | All-rounder |
| International: | true |
| Internationalspan: | 2019–present |
| Odidebutdate: | 27 April |
| Odidebutyear: | 2019 |
| Odidebutagainst: | Oman |
| Odicap: | 18 |
| Lastodidate: | 19 February |
| Lastodiyear: | 2024 |
| Lastodiagainst: | Netherlands |
| T20idebutdate: | 20 May |
| T20idebutyear: | 2019 |
| T20idebutagainst: | Ghana |
| T20icap: | 4 |
| Lastt20idate: | 30 November |
| Lastt20iyear: | 2023 |
| Lastt20iagainst: | Nigeria |
| Columns: | 4 |
| Column1: | ODI |
| Matches1: | 42 |
| Runs1: | 1,614 |
| Bat Avg1: | 43.62 |
| 100S/50S1: | 2/12 |
| Top Score1: | 125 |
| Deliveries1: | 912 |
| Wickets1: | 28 |
| Bowl Avg1: | 23.14 |
| Fivefor1: | 1 |
| Tenfor1: | 0 |
| Best Bowling1: | 5/28 |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 23/– |
| Column2: | T20I |
| Matches2: | 52 |
| Runs2: | 1,194 |
| Bat Avg2: | 32.27 |
| 100S/50S2: | 1/7 |
| Top Score2: | 100* |
| Deliveries2: | 571 |
| Wickets2: | 35 |
| Bowl Avg2: | 14.17 |
| Fivefor2: | 0 |
| Tenfor2: | 0 |
| Best Bowling2: | 3/12 |
| Catches/Stumpings2: | 34/– |
| Column3: | FC |
| Matches3: | 38 |
| Runs3: | 1,255 |
| Bat Avg3: | 20.24 |
| 100S/50S3: | 1/3 |
| Top Score3: | 192 |
| Deliveries3: | 146 |
| Wickets3: | 2 |
| Bowl Avg3: | 52.0 |
| Fivefor3: | 0 |
| Tenfor3: | 0 |
| Best Bowling3: | 2/46 |
| Catches/Stumpings3: | 24/2 |
| Column4: | LA |
| Matches4: | 99 |
| Runs4: | 3,031 |
| Bat Avg4: | 37.88 |
| 100S/50S4: | 2/23 |
| Top Score4: | 125 |
| Deliveries4: | 1,119 |
| Wickets4: | 35 |
| Bowl Avg4: | 22.97 |
| Fivefor4: | 1 |
| Tenfor4: | 0 |
| Best Bowling4: | 5/28 |
| Catches/Stumpings4: | 66/ |
| Date: | 19 February 2024 |
| Source: | http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/519070.html ESPNcricinfo |
| Club1: | Kathmandu Gurkhas |
| Year1: | 2024 |
Merwe Gerhard Erasmus (born 11 April 1995) is a Namibian cricketer,[1] and the current captain of the Namibia cricket team.[2]
Erasmus first played at senior level for Namibia in February 2011, aged 15, against a touring Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) side.[3] He made his international and first-class debut against Ireland in September 2011 in the 2011–2013 ICC Intercontinental Cup,[4] and at the age of 16, became the youngest player in the team's history.[5] He was a member of Namibia's squad for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier.[6]
Erasmus was included in the Namibia under-19s squad for the 2012 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Australia.[7] He captained the team at the 2014 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.[8]
Erasmus played in Namibia's squad for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament.[9] In August 2018, he was named in Namibia's squad for the 2018 Africa T20 Cup.[10]
In March 2019, Erasmus was named as the captain of Namibia's squad for the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament.[11] Namibia finished in the top four places in the tournament, therefore gaining One Day International (ODI) status.[12] Erasmus made his ODI debut for Namibia on 27 April 2019, against Oman, in the tournament's final.[13] In May 2019, he was named as the captain of Namibia's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier tournament in Uganda.[14] [15] He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for Namibia against Ghana on 20 May 2019.[16]
In June 2019, Erasmus was one of twenty-five cricketers to be named in Cricket Namibia's Elite Men's Squad ahead of the 2019–20 international season.[17] [18] In September 2019, he was named as the captain of Namibia's squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates.[19] [20] He was the leading run-scorer for Namibia in the tournament, with 268 runs in nine matches.[21] Following the conclusion of the final, he was named as the player of the tournament.[22]
In September 2021, Erasmus was named as the captain of Namibia's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup,[23] with the International Cricket Council (ICC) later naming him as the key player in Namibia's team.[24] In a warm-up match against Scotland before the tournament, he broke a finger while fielding. However, he decided to continue playing in the tournament and captain his team in spite of the injury.[25]
In March 2022, in the second match of the 2022 United Arab Emirates Tri-Nation Series, Erasmus scored his first century in ODI cricket, with 121 not out.[26] The following month, in the second match against Uganda, Erasmus also scored his first century in T20I cricket,[27] with an unbeaten 100 against Uganda.[28]
In January 2023, Erasmus won the International Cricket Council's Associate Cricketer of the Year award.[29] Erasmus scored 956 ODI runs at an average of 56.23 and took a dozen wickets in 2022, and scored a century in both ODI and T20I formats.[30]
In May 2024, he was named the captain in Namibia’s squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.[31]
As of 2018, Erasmus was a fourth-year law student at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. His father Francois runs a family law firm in Windhoek and is a former president of Cricket Namibia and associate director of the International Cricket Council (ICC).[3]