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Christoffel "Christi" Viljoen (born 28 September 1987) is a former cricketer who played for the Namibia national team. He played as a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm medium-fast. He also played for Otago in New Zealand domestic cricket.

Career

Viljoen made his first-class debut for Namibia in the CSA Provincial Three-Day Challenge competition held in South Africa on 21 January 2010 against KwaZulu-Natal. He also made his T20 debut (along with 9 other players in Namibia) against Zimbabwe on 13 February 2010. Opening the bowling with Louis Klazinga, Viljoen took a single wicket (that of Sikandar Raza) for seven runs. He played six matches in the tournament, scoring 61 runs from three innings with a highest of 41, and took six wickets at an average of 16.83.

After experimenting with a two-division format the International Cricket Council decided that the 2011–13 ICC Intercontinental Cup would feature eight teams, including Namibia who were previously in the Shield competition, playing first-class cricket. Namibia played their opening fixture of the Cup in September. Batting at number three Viljoen scored a four-ball duck in the first innings but in the second managed 87 from 136 balls, in the process passing 500 first-class runs in his career and beating his previous highest score in the format.

A side made up of some of the leading players from Associate and Affiliate teams was put together to face England in Dubai in January 2012. The three-day match was part of England's preparation for a series against Pakistan later that month. Along with Craig Williams, Viljoen was one of two Namibia players included in the 12-man squad. Coming in to bat at 90/6, Viljoen top-scored with 98 runs from 189 balls against a bowling line-up including James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Steven Finn, and Graeme Swann.

The UAE hosted the 2012 World Twenty20 Qualifier in March. Namibia progressed to the preliminary finals where they lost to Ireland. With 14 wickets from 9 matches, Viljoen was Namibia's leading wicket-taker in the tournament (equal fourth overall), and scored 48 runs from 5 innings. Shortly after the tournament concluded, Namibia hosted Canada in the Intercontinental Cup. Namibia won by eight wickets and in the second innings Viljoen finished with career-best bowling figures of 7/61.

In January 2018, he was named in Namibia's squad for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament.

He was the joint-leading wicket-taker for Otago in the 2018–19 Super Smash, with thirteen dismissals in seven matches.

In March 2019, he was named in Namibia's squad for the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament. Namibia finished in the top four places in the tournament, therefore gaining One Day International (ODI) status. Viljoen made his ODI debut for Namibia on 27 April 2019, against Oman, in the tournament's final.

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. He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for Namibia against Ghana on 20 May 2019. In Namibia's third match of the tournament, against Botswana, Viljoen took his first five-wicket haul in a T20I match, finishing with figures of five wickets for nine runs from his four overs. He finished as the leading wicket-taker in the Regional Finals, with nine dismissals in three matches. However, following the conclusion of the tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended Viljoen for four matches, after he breached the ICC's Anti-Racism Code during the match against Uganda.

In June 2019, 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. In September 2019, he was named in Namibia's squad for the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier tournament in the United Arab Emirates. Ahead of the tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named him as the player to watch in Namibia's squad.

References

1. "Christi Viljoen". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
2. f52226 KwaZulu-Natal v Namibia: CSA Provincial Three-Day Competition 2009/10, CricketArchive, retrieved 7 January 2012
3. tt1525 Southern Rocks v Namibia: Stanbic Bank Twenty20 2009/10, CricketArchive, retrieved 7 January 2012
4. Batting and fielding in Stanbic Bank Twenty20 2009/10 (ordered by runs), CricketArchive, retrieved 7 January 2012
5. Bowling in Stanbic Bank Twenty20 2009/10 (ordered by wickets), CricketArchive, retrieved 7 January 2012
6. "UAE and Namibia join Intercontinental Cup", ESPNcricinfo, 17 May 2011, retrieved 7 January 2012
7. f53346 Ireland v Namibia: ICC Inter-Continental Cup 2011 to 2013, Cricket Archive, retrieved 7 January 2012
8. Porterfield leads ICC side against England, Cricinfo, 16 December 2011, retrieved 18 December 2011
9. "England frustrated by lower-order rally", ESPNcricinfo, 7 January 2012, retrieved 7 January 2012
10. Siggins, Gerard (24 March 2012), "Ireland demolish Namibia to qualify for World T20", ESPNcricinfo, retrieved 2 May 2012
11. "ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier, 2011/12 / Records / Most wickets", ESPNcricinfo, archived from the original on 24 April 2012, retrieved 2 May 2012
12. Batting and fielding in ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2011/12 (ordered by runs), Cricket Archive, retrieved 2 May 2012
13. "Burger, Viljoen star in Namibia win", ESPNcricinfo, 8 April 2012, retrieved 2 May 2012
14. "Six teams vying for the final two spots in ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
15. "Super Smash, 2018/19 – Otago: Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
16. "The Squad Participating in the ICC World League 2 Tournament". Cricket Namibia. 18 March 2019. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
17. "Papua New Guinea secure top-four finish on dramatic final day". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
18. "Final, ICC World Cricket League Division Two at Windhoek, Apr 27 2019". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
19. "Namibia squad revealed for ICC T20 World Cup Africa finals". Xinhua News Agency (Africa). Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
20. "African men in Uganda for T20 showdown". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
21. "5th Match, ICC Men's T20 World Cup Africa Region Final at Kampala, May 20 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
22. "11th Match, ICC Men's T20 World Cup Africa Region Final at Kampala, May 22 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
23. "Viljoen rips through Botswana". The Namibian. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
24. "ICC Men's T20 World Cup Africa Region Final, 2019: Most wickets". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
25. "Namibia's Christi Viljoen earns four-match suspension". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
26. "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.
27. "Elite cricket training squad announced". Erongo. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
28. "ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier Send Off". Cricket Namibia. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
29. "Team preview: Namibia". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 15 October 2019.

External links

• Christi Viljoen at ESPNcricinfo

• 1987 births
• Living people
• Namibian Afrikaner people
• South African expatriates in New Zealand
• South African people of Dutch descent
• Cricketers from Pretoria
• Namibian cricketers
• Namibia One Day International cricketers
• Namibia Twenty20 International cricketers
• Otago cricketers