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Follow Us“In the Netherlands, we don't have a first-class system. We have club cricket. And then we have Netherlands A cricket, where we do some touring. And then you're thrusted onto the ICC World Cup scene, or the qualifiers, or whatever. And then you're facing quality bowlers who are bowling 135 plus or being able to turn the ball and bowl it long and effectively.”
The words of Teja Nidamanuru echoed late into the night when he was done speaking after the Netherlands’ defeat to England. With this being a 10-team event and with the Netherlands causing an upset pretty early in the tournament against South Africa, one can often fail to realize the gulf in resources between them and the other teams.
Ask the teams that participated in the qualifier for the 2023 World Cup. And they will say that the Netherlands have enjoyed a dream run.
Only one of the players in this team had ever played in a 50-over World Cup before this. And he played for a completely different unit. Forget that. This is a team that do not have the wherewithal anywhere remotely close to its competitors in the tournament. This is a team that has walked on hot ashes just to be at this year’s global event.
”I think all the guys are trying very hard. We're a very hard-working group. No one really misses an optional training. Because for us to get opportunities to train on wickets like this or to be able to have proper facilities is something that we fully throw ourselves into.” The glint in Teja's eye was unmistakable. Of a person awestruck with resources that top-tier teams have now taken for granted.
In their eighth game of the tournament, the Dutch had England reeling at 192/6. 14 runs later, the Netherlands had a chance to put the game to rest. Not only that. A win would have put them firmly in line for participation in the 2025 Champions Trophy. It would have also drawn curtains to England’s chances of participating in the same. But, it was not to be.
Dutt dropped a reasonably regulation chance of Ben Stokes at fine leg when the English all-rounder was on 41. England’s dark knight went to score his first World Cup ton and, together with Chris Woakes, piled the misery on the Netherlands. England hit 124 runs in the last ten overs, batting the Dutch out of the game.
“Obviously, in the game of cricket you make your own luck and you make other opportunities as well so yeah, it's just obviously disappointing that the momentum had shifted from then on which kind of got away from us, especially towards the death,” said Teja when asked about the “what if” scenario had that catch been taken.
When it was their turn to bat, Teja did give the crowd a glimpse of his hitting prowess, but the Netherlands fell way short, losing the game by 160 runs. With the loss, the Netherlands have moved to the last place on the points table, but for Teja and his team, there have been plenty of positives to take back home.
“Of course, it's disappointing to be in the last place. Our objective to come to the World Cup was to be in a position to play knockout cricket and as wild or as brave as that sounds - it's really important to have aspiration, and it's really important to have something to aim for so - if you don't aim for that you might get there and which would be a good result, but if you aim for here and you don't get anywhere, that's also not ideal.”
“I think there's some great reference points, not only for us but also guys back home. And yeah, we've been writing down that learning, we've been discussing that learning, and also the intensity and the overall skill it requires to access the ball in different areas and strike rotation is something that we're going to continue to work on. As you can see, it's quite important. You see people like Kohli, or even today, how Ben Stokes were able to get good balls of spinners just down too long on and long off, and obviously ease their pressure.
“We pride ourselves on being able to evolve and grow, which this exposure against the top nine teams in the world has done for us. So being in last place, that's the cricket that we're playing right now. But I'm sure that we'll pick ourselves up and, you know, move forward in the coming tournaments. We have the T20 World Cup next year that we've already qualified for. So that's another opportunity for us to build towards. And I have no doubt that we'll definitely be causing a few upsets there and playing well and wanting to play in the semifinals as well.”
When asked about what is needed for his side to beat the top teams consistently, Teja was quick to remind him about the difference in exposure.
“Being able to do good things for longer. Whether again to point out some quality players like once they get to 30 or once they get to 40 and if we're talking about our batting group if we're talking about our bowling or spinners, being able to nail that sort of length or area, not get bored and stick to our plans, and being able to execute. And being able to execute under pressure in front of crowds or obviously against big players, these guys play against each other all the time. They play in IPL. They have lots of exposure in terms of what's going on.”
Not holding back his thoughts, Teja was prompt in drawing a parallel from the Afghanistan journey. And how if they get continuous opportunities, the Netherlands can be equally competitive.
"If you look at someone like Afghanistan, they've been at the last three World Cups now and look at what they're able to achieve. So, this is the first time that we're here in the last decade or so. So again, well, Afghanistan didn't win a game, one World Cup, and they won one in 2015. So, there are teams that come in and get exposure also have a tough time. So, we see this as a learning block, but we're out there to compete. No one comes to lose or to play badly.”
“The longer we continue on this journey and sort of the more exposure as you say is one, but also being able to do those good things for longer will ensure that we beat the obviously the main sides a lot more.” he signed off.
