NEWS
Follow UsThe USA failed to win a single game in the Super 8s of the 2024 T20 World Cup but would still be mighty pleased with what they achieved in the competition. Playing their first World Cup, the USA defeated Canada and Pakistan in the group stage and managed to make it through to the next round. That in itself is a big achievement for a team like USA.
What’s more, the USA have also automatically qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India. All-rounder Corey Anderson admitted that they were “found wanting a little bit” in the Super 8s and want his team to learn from these three defeats.
“I mean there's probably a lot of areas that we need to improve on. We are still an associate nation, growing, trying to get a bigger player pool. Making it through the Super 8s was obviously a historic occasion for the USA, but we did want to show that we were worthy of being in that Super 8 and I thought in the first game against South Africa we did a really good job,” said Anderson after a 10-wicket defeat against England on June 23 (Sunday).
“The last couple of games have just been not quite there, but that's what happens in these Super 8 comps is the bigger boys start to really show up and they're kind of hitting their stride right at the back end of this comp. The more we've played as well, the more footage they have on us, we're a little bit unknown coming into the comp and that's kind of part of cricket.
“As soon as you get seen and you do a couple of things, everyone starts circling and wondering what's going on, how do we get them out, where are the weaknesses, where are the strengths. I think the guys have probably found wanting a little bit in that regard. But again, it's a great learning.
“We don't get to play against these big teams often or at all. So, anything that we can play against these guys is hugely valuable. Again, moving into another two-year cycle of playing the World Cup in India, I think that's going to be extremely helpful to look back. It's probably a little bit raw at the moment obviously, but there's heaps of learnings out of that.”
Anderson said the team is disappointed but knows they have done enough to make their presence felt in the cricket world. “Look, they're disappointed. They're hurt. I'm hurt. Your pride's always on the line when you're playing these games and you never want to lose badly or have performances like that. But again, it's looking at the bigger picture too. If we're a team and we first started and we're beginning to be disappointed about how we play against these big teams and knowing that we can do better, that's a great sign because it means we can give more.
“I think the public's perception and expectation of us is probably very much still that we're an Associate nation, and yes, we are. But we've got extremely good talent in the US, and this was a massive stepping stone in showing that. I think the boys can hold their heads high and be proud of what they've done. Because again, I think we've probably turned the world's attention to the US for them to say we're here to play.”
The former New Zealand cricketer, Anderson himself didn’t have a great tournament. The left-hander scored 66 runs across five innings at an average of 16.50 and a strike rate of 91.66. Not once did he manage to cross the 30-run mark. “My performance has been lacklustre from what I expected myself. I think as a team we did a fantastic job to get to where we were and we had different guys stepping up at different times.
“Unfortunately, I couldn't chime in and help when we probably, the wheels were falling off a little bit. But again, that's cricket, it's a short comp in the whole scheme of things and you get caught on the hop and it can go a little bit pear-shaped. So, I was probably showing a little bit of a glimpse today, but again it was probably just a little too late as well.”
His highest score came in the last game against England, where he scored 29 off 28 deliveries. However, it was far from enough as the USA were bowled out for 115 and England hunted it down in just 9.4 overs. “I was definitely clear on what I needed to do. I played enough cricket, and ugly and big enough to figure it out on my own as well.
“I think being the senior player in the team as well, who's played, I guess, the most international cricket here, it's probably my role to try and get a little bit of calmness in that group and unfortunately there were times where we lost a couple of wickets quickly and you kind of need to consolidate but again it's on me, I needed to play better than what I did and there was probably opportunities that I missed out on.
“But again, it's kind of how it goes, it's just sometimes you strike while the iron's hot when you do and when it's going not your way it sort of lingers around a little bit and you don't quite get those performances that you're after. Again, like I said earlier, today I was probably close to it, felt much better today but couldn't quite capitalise and probably needed a handful of others to go with us as well.
“But it is what it is. There are plenty of boys in this comp who are probably disappointed in how they've gone, but as a team, I think we've done extremely well for what people were expecting of us and I know our bar has now been raised in terms of what we know we're capable of as well so again it comes back to what the team's been doing and yeah, I'm extremely proud of what this team has done this World Cup.”
So, what next for the USA? “I mean the sky's the limit really. The last few years, there's always been whispers about what's happening in America with cricket. We saw the Major League last year and we've had a lot more guys become eligible to play for the USA and that's been able to grow the player pool and you've seen some of the talent on show here today and what we can offer and hopefully in years to come as well we can kind of grow that.”
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.
