Ireland opened their ODI series against Namibia with a 55-run victory in Windhoek. After posting 229/9, built around a half-century from Paul Stirling, Ireland's bowlers bundled out the hosts for 174. Ruben Trumpelmann mounted a spirited fightback with a fifty, but Gavin Hoey's three-wicket haul, along with two wickets apiece for Jai Moondra and George Dockrell, ensured Namibia fell well short.

Ireland made a steady start after Namibia elected to bowl, reaching 56/0 after 10 overs. Paul Stirling looked comfortable against the new ball, building a 70-run partnership with Andrew Balbirnie for the opening wicket. Bernard Scholtz ended the stand as Balbirnie fell for 20 in the 13th over. Stirling went on to complete a fluent half-century before being dismissed by Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton for 56 off 71 balls, leaving Ireland at 95/2 in the 21st over.

Cade Carmichael and Harry Tector helped rebuild the innings, but Namibia began to make inroads through their spin attack. The pair added useful runs before Tector fell for 28 in the 33rd over, caught off Loftie-Eaton. Carmichael continued to anchor the innings, though scoring slowed as the pitch became slower and deliveries began to keep low. Ireland managed only 59 runs between the 26th and 40th overs, reaching 175/3 at the end of that period.

Carmichael's patient 45 off 80 balls ended soon after, while Lorcan Tucker made 28 before also falling to Loftie-Eaton. Ireland found some late impetus, scoring 54 runs in the final 10 overs, but lost six wickets in that period. Loftie-Eaton finished with four wickets, while JJ Smith claimed two.

Namibia's chase began steadily, with Michael van Lingen and Louren Steenkamp putting on 48 for the opening wicket. Their dismissals, however, triggered a slide. Van Lingen made 23 off 22 balls before edging Jai Moondra to Tucker, while Steenkamp was dismissed for 26 by Gavin Hoey in the next over. Hoey struck again soon after, removing Jan Frylinck for nine to leave Namibia at 68/3 in the 13th over.

Ireland continued to chip away as Zane Green was bowled by Curtis Campher before Loftie-Eaton was run out for nine following a mix-up. Gerhard Erasmus briefly counter-attacked, striking a six off Hoey, but George Dockrell dismissed the Namibia captain lbw for 22. Smit followed soon after, becoming Dockrell's second wicket to leave Namibia reeling at 110/7 in the 25th over.

Ruben Trumpelmann tried to counter attack, striking a six off Andy McBrine and two more maximums off Dockrell. But Namibia lost their eighth wicket as Waldo Smith got a top-edge trying to slog-sweep Hoey. Moondra then picked up his second wicket by having Scholtz bowled, leaving Namibia nine down. Trumpelmann continued his fightback, striking two successive fours off Liam McCarthy as he got to a 42-ball fifty. But he fell soon after that as Ireland took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

Brief scores: Ireland 229/9 in 50 overs (Paul Stirling 56, Cade Carmichael 45; Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton 4-36) beat Namibia 174 all-out in 37.5 overs (Ruben Trumpelmann 50, Louren Steenkamp 26; Gavin Hoey 3-29) by 55 runs.