Follow UsSri Lanka and the Netherlands are the two most travelled sides in the T20 World Cup 2024. They are the only two teams to play thier four group stage matches across four different venues across the US and the West Indies.
While Sri Lanka were not too pleased with so much travel, which gave them very few breaks between matches, Netherlands captain Scott Edwards sees the positives in doing so.
"I think for our guys, it's an awesome opportunity to play cricket in different parts of the world. It's something we thrive off. We love playing in different conditions in different parts of the world. Obviously, it's short breaks between games, but that's just part of how these World Cups go, and our guys love that," Edwards said ahead of his side's game against Sri Lanka in St Lucia.
"I think all World Cups, it's on the field is amazing playing in front of big crowds and those sort of things, and I think travelling to different parts of the world like the West Indies and the US where a lot of our guys haven't been, it gives guys a good opportunity to see different parts of the world as well," he further added.
The Netherlands know that even a win may not see them go through to the Super Eights if Bangladesh beat Nepal in the previous game. However, Nepal's loss to South Africa gives the Dutch an outside chance. Edwards says his team is preparing as they do before every game.
"These tournaments are obviously quite quick and fast. We obviously didn't have our desired result against Bangladesh, but with yesterday's result [South Africa beating Nepal] we're still in fighting for a spot for the top eight. So yeah, we're preparing as well as we do for every game," he said.
Speaking of their opponents Sri Lanka, who are yet to get off the mark in the tournament, Edwards says "They are obviously a quality side. We have played them a lot of times in the last couple of years. We know the skills they've got. We know what they bring and yeah, we know what we're coming up against."
The Netherlands won their first game of the competition against Nepal but then lost their way, succumbing to defeats against South Africa and Bangladesh, despite putting up excellent fights. They qualified for this edition after finishing in the top eight in the T20 World Cup 2022 and could still potentially secure direct qualification for the next edition in India and Sri Lanka, depending on how the results pan out on June 15 (Sunday).
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