NEWS
Follow Us18 months ago, Netherlands produced one of the biggest shocks in T20 World Cup history by knocking South Africa out of the tournament in Adelaide, beating the Proteas by 13 runs. There, all South Africa needed to do to make the semis was beat The Dutch, but they got floored against all odds in a result that pretty much no one saw coming.
But lightning struck twice last year when Netherlands beat South Africa AGAIN, this time in the 50-over World Cup. The defeat in Dharamshala did not cost South Africa a semi-final spot, but it sure made one thing clear: which was the fact that The Dutch had turned into a bogey team for the Proteas.
Drawn in the same group again, Netherlands, on June 8 (Saturday) in New York will have the opportunity to make it three in three against South Africa. For all the right reasons, this is a clash with a fascinating sub-plot, but on the eve of the contest, Netherlands skipper opted to downplay the hype. He made it clear that his side will treat this like any other clash.
“Yeah, I think, yeah for us, we've got four games, we've got to win three. So, tomorrow's just another opportunity to get a second win on the board,” Edwards said in the press conference before the game.
“We’re as confident as ever. We don't see it as a full member, associate sort of, that's not the way we sort of think about our cricket. I think we've shown in the last few years that we're good enough to be at any side. So, for us, it is just another game of cricket.”
The contest will be played in New York, a venue that’s already come under the scanner for how under-prepared the pitch has been.
On June 7 (Friday), the ICC themselves put out a statement admitting that the wickets in New York had not met expectations, and had proven to be sub-par.
But Edwards asserted that his side will be up for the challenge, notwithstanding the kind of surface that will be presented to them.
“I think we're pretty lucky in the sense that we play on a lot of different wickets,” The Dutch skipper said.
“Back in the Netherlands, we play on artificials. We play on spicy wickets. We play on spinning wickets. So yeah, for us, it's just about adapting to whatever the wicket brings to us.”
This has already proven to be a World Cup of upsets. Two days ago, USA scored one of the biggest upsets in cricket history by downing Pakistan in Dallas. On Friday, meanwhile, Canada, the lowest-ranked member in this T20WC, got the better of a full member in the form of Ireland. And on the very first day, Papua New Guinea came agonizingly close to beating hosts West Indies.
Edwards admitted that T20, as a format, helps in leveling the playing field a bit, but asserted that the results we’re seeing is ultimately a result of the increase in the standard of cricket overall.
“I think that these countries coming up and through have just improved. The structures, the players, all that sort of thing just seems to be going uphill.
“Like you see, even the qualifiers for the 50 over World Cup. So, I'm not sure how much the format is the difference. I think it's just the standard of crickets that's coming up for some countries.”
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