CWC Qualifiers: "We could have taken more wickets early on...", says USA skipper after loss to Netherlands
Jun 22, 2023
Harare [Zimbabwe], June 22 : Following his side's five-wicket loss to the Netherlands in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 qualifiers, USA skipper Aaron Jones said that his team could have taken more wickets early during their opponents' run chase and added that 250 runs were a challenging total on the wicket.
Half-centuries from skipper Scott Edwards and Teja Nidamanuru helped the Netherlands register a five-wicket win over the USA in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Qualifiers at Harare on Thursday.
"I think we could have taken some more wickets early on, that would have put them under more pressure. (On the score and the numbers discussed) I think 250 is a challenging score on this wicket," said Aaron in post-match presentation.
"If the ball is in your area, you hit it away or you try to rotate strike. I think losing so many wickets so early - it is basically a carbon copy from the last game. If we had more wickets in hand, we could have scored 250 or more. Disappointed to lose so many wickets at the start. Quite a few of the guys have a bug right now. Our captain has been out for the last two games. Not much you can do about that. (On how he plans to keep the morale high) In cricket, you win some, you lose some. It is just about going back and coming back hard the next game," he added.
With this win, the Netherlands is in the third spot in the Group A points table with a win and loss in two matches, which has given them two points. On the other hand, the USA is at the bottom, having lost all its three matches.
Coming to the match, put to bat first by the Netherlands, the US put 211/8 on the board. After they were reduced to 46/4, knocks from Shayan Jahangir (71 in 86 balls, with five fours and two sixes), Jessy Singh (38 in 53 balls, with three sixes) and Gajanand Singh (33 in 57 balls, with three fours and a six).
Ryan Klein (2/31), Bas de Leede (2/37) and Logan van Beek (1/43) were among the best bowlers for the Netherlands.
In the chase of 212, even Netherlands had its struggles and was reduced to 83/4, but knocks from Edwards (67* in 60 balls, with six fours) and Teja Nidamanuru (58 in 68 balls, with five boundaries) helped the Netherlands clinch a five-wicket win.
Jessy Singh (2/35) was the pick of the bowlers for the US.
