Windhoek (Namibia) Apr 27 (IANS): Skipper Gerhard Erasmus scored a century as Namibia defeated the South Africa Emerging men's team by five wickets to go 1-0 up in the three-match one-day series here on Tuesday.

Erasmus hit an attacking 108 (95 balls, 10x4, 4x6) to help his team make light work of a 245-run victory target as the home team won with 31 balls to spare.

The tourists have now lost the last three matches of the tour, having been beaten 1-2 in the T20 series.

Electing to bowl after winning the toss, Namibia got rid of Matthew Breetzke (1) early. But Joshua Richards (42) and Kabelo Sekhukhune (23) put on 50 for the second wicket for South Africa Emerging.

Jonathan Bird (22) helped continue the momentum, before a flurry of wickets led to them slipping from 91 for two to 99 for five.

The loss of Jason Smith (11) left South Africa in further trouble at 131 for six, before Delano Potgieter struck 56 and sewed together a partnership of 73 with Wandile Makwetu (47) that helped Malibongwe Maketa's side recover.

But Erasmus and Craig Williams (47) put on 123 for the fourth wicket to deflate their opponents, with JJ Smit (14*) then helping take the Namibians over the line with more than five overs to spare.

Brief scores: South Africa Emerging 244 in 50 overs (Joshua Richards 42, Delano Potgieter 56, Wandile Makwetu 47; JN Loftie-Eaton 3/29) lost to Namibia 245 for 5 in 44.5 overs (Gerhard Erasmus 108; Craig Williams 48) by 5 wickets.