Pikky Ya France

Helao Nafidi Ya France (born 23 April 1990) is a Namibian cricketer. He is known by his nickname Pikky. Ya France is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm slow. He was born in Windhoek, Khomas Region.[1]

Pikky Ya France
Personal information
Full name
Helao Nafidi Ya France
Born (1990-04-23) 23 April 1990
Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm Off-spin(break)
RoleBatting Allrounder
International information
National side
ODI debut (cap 26)27 April 2019 v Oman
Last ODI26 November 2022 v Papua New Guinea
T20I debut (cap 14)19 August 2019 v Botswana
Last T20I24 May 2022 v Zimbabwe
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I FC LA
Matches 11 18 47 36
Runs scored 34 32 1,448 369
Batting average 11.33 4.57 15.91 14.19
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/4 0/0
Top score 11* 13 83 41
Balls bowled 312 156 1,012 462
Wickets 6 5 11 8
Bowling average 38.83 35.20 67.90 45.37
5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 2/31 1/3 2/29 2/31
Catches/stumpings 2/– 2/– 14/0 4/0
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 29 November 2022

Career

2008-2011: Debut

Having played for the Namibia Under-19 cricket team, whom he represented in the 2008 Under-19s Cricket World Cup, Ya France made his first-class debut for the senior team in March 2011. Ya France opened the batting in the 2010/11 CSA Provincial Three-Day Competition against Gauteng and scored 15 and 10.[2] He made his List A the following day, and scored 13.[3]

Ya France quickly established himself as a regular member of the side. He played in both one day matches in the tour of Ireland in July, and then took eight wickets at 12.25 in the 2011 ICC Africa Twenty20 Division One in Uganda.[4]

In September 2011, Ya France made a marathon unbeaten half-century against Scotland to force a draw in Namibia's ICC Intercontinental Cup match. Ya France faced 225 balls in his 63 not out.[5]

2013: Racism controversy

In April 2013, Ya France scored 54 off 38 in the final of the Twenty20 Quadrangular to help Namibia to victory over Kenya.[6] He was named man of the match.[7]

In September, however, Ya France pulled out of the squad that travelled to Sharjah to play the United Arab Emirates in the ICC Intercontinental Cup. Ya France stated that he had been "constantly subjected to unfair treatment by the selectors" in being overlooked for selection in previous matches. Carlos Kambaekwa, writing for the New Era newspaper, criticized the team's "lily white lineup" and suggested that the Namibian cricket authorities were excluding and discouraging "cricketers of colour".[7]

Ya France was back in the first-class team in October,[8] but played only one match in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in November.[9]

2015-present: Return to form

In October 2015, Ya France returned to form with 83 against South Western Districts.[10] This is his highest first-class score to date.[1]

In April 2016, Ya France top scored for Namibia in both innings against Afghanistan in the ICC Intercontinental Cup. He made 46 and 40 as Namibia lost by an innings and 36 runs.[11] Then in September he top-scored in Namibia's victory over Western Province in the 2016 Africa T20 Cup.[12] Namibia lost both its remaining matches, but Ya France was his team's highest run-scorer in the tournament.[13]

In October 2018, he was named in Namibia's squad in the Southern sub region group for the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Africa Qualifier tournament in Botswana.[14] In March 2019, he was named in Namibia's squad for the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament.[15] Namibia finished in the top four places in the tournament, therefore gaining One Day International (ODI) status.[16] Ya France made his ODI debut for Namibia on 27 April 2019, against Oman, in the tournament's final.[17]

In May 2019, he was named in Namibia's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier tournament in Uganda.[18][19] The following month, he was one of twenty-five cricketers to be named in Cricket Namibia's Elite Men's Squad ahead of the 2019–20 international season.[20][21]

He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for Namibia against Botswana on 19 August 2019 during Botswana's tour of Namibia.[22] In September 2019, he was named in Namibia's squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates.[23] In September 2021, he was named in Namibia's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[24]

References
  1. "Pikky Ya France". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  2. CSA Provincial Three-Day Challenge, Gauteng v Namibia at Johannesburg, Mar 3-5, 2011. ESPN Cricinfo.
  3. CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge, Gauteng v Namibia at Johannesburg, Mar 6, 2011. ESPN Cricinfo.
  4. Records / ICC Africa Region Division One Twenty20, 2011 / Most wickets. ESPN Cricinfo.
  5. "Ya France, Snyman earn Namibia draw". ESPN Cricinfo. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  6. Twenty20 Quadrangular (in Namibia) - Final
  7. Kambaekwa, Carlos (23 September 2013). "Cricket again accused of racism". New Era. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  8. "First-Class Matches played by Pikky Ya France". Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  9. "Twenty20 Matches played by Pikky Ya France". Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  10. Schutz, Helge (19 October 2015). "Namibia: Young Team Shows Promise Against SWD". The Namibian. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  11. ICC Intercontinental Cup, Afghanistan v Namibia at Greater Noida, Apr 10-13, 2016
  12. Schutz, Helge (2 September 2016). "Namibia beat WP in Africa T20 Cup". The Namibian. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  13. Records / Africa T20 Cup, 2016/17 / Most runs. ESPN Cricinfo.
  14. "Namibian squad for World T20 Qualifier". The Namibian. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  15. "The Squad Participating In The ICC World League 2 Tournament". Cricket Namibia. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  16. "Papua New Guinea secure top-four finish on dramatic final day". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  17. "Final, ICC World Cricket League Division Two at Windhoek, Apr 27 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  18. "Namibia squad revealed for ICC T20 World Cup Africa finals". Xinhua News (Africa). Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  19. "African men in Uganda for T20 showdown". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  20. "Breaking News – Announcement of the 2019–2020 National Elite Training Squad". Cricket Namibia. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  21. "Elite cricket training squad announced". Erongo. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  22. "1st T20I, Botswana tour of Namibia at Windhoek, Aug 19 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  23. "ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier Send Off". Cricket Namibia. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  24. "Namibia name T20 World Cup squad, include David Wiese". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
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