ICC CWC 2023: "Never underestimate a wounded buffalo," says Netherlands' assistant coach ahead of England clash

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], November 7 : Ahead of his side's ICC Cricket World Cup match against England, Netherlands assistant coach Ryan van Niekerk said that it would be wrong to underestimate a "wounded buffalo" like the defending champions and they can still produce some incredible performances in the tournament.
England will take on Netherlands at Pune on Wednesday. England has had a dissipating WC campaign and has lost six out of their seven matches. They are out of the tournament and placed at the bottom.
The Netherlands has shown a lot of character and has wins against South Africa and Bangladesh to their name but have lost the rest of their five matches. They are placed at number nine. This match will be vital for both teams with regards to ICC CT 2025 qualification, for which the top eight teams of the tournament can qualify.
On whether England is at its most vulnerable, Ryan said at the pre-match press conference said, "England are world champions. So, I think they would do what is necessary. They have prepared just as much. And, in South Africa, where I am from, there is a famous saying of never underestimate a wounded buffalo. So, I think we sit in a position where England's one of the best teams in the world. And irrespective of how they are playing, they can produce incredible performances at any moment. So that's what we are preparing for, the best England possible."
After some impressive wins over South Africa and Bangladesh, on being questioned if the team thinks of beating England tomorrow and if their self-belief grew gradually, Ryan said that they had this self-belief all along.
"We are here to compete and we have prepared in that manner. As I said, building really good habits, trying to make sure that we are consistent throughout in what we do in all our preparations irrespective of who we play So I think you know our goal of making sure that we take each game exactly the same is continuing throughout," he added.
Questioned on how big it would be for an associate team like the Netherlands to have a shot at ICC Champions Trophy qualification, Ryan said that the team has grown a lot over the last few years and now every game means a lot, whether the purpose is to get into World Cup semis or play for Champions Trophy qualification.
"I think if you look at it when we started the tournament the Champions Trophy was not even an option, I think the team has grown immensely over the last two years and coming into the environment, you almost feel like every game means a lot, irrespective of whether it is playing for Champions Trophy or playing for getting into a semi-final," said Ryan.
"I think every game is going to be important to us, no more important than the one coming up against England. I think going forward, the processes that have been put in place in this tournament with our group of players and our coaches have been absolutely phenomenal," he added.
Ryan said that an important thing for the team is to build good habits and to play top nations in the world is a privilege.
"I think the important thing for us is to build good habits. Playing the top nations in the world is an incredible opportunity and a real privilege for our group. And so, every opportunity we get is one that we prepare immensely for. Every game that we have taken on, whether we win or we lose, we follow the same process. Our reflections are the same, our debriefs are the same. And that consistency is something that we really strive for. It is one of our value systems. So important for us that win or lose, we follow the same process. And that has been the same throughout this tournament," said Ryan.
On their preparations for Indian conditions before the tournament, Ryan said that the team spent two weeks in Bengaluru to get used to heat, humidity, conditions and different pitches.
"We played against a really strong Karnataka team as well, which was a great opportunity for us. So, I think throughout our preparation, whether it was the stuff behind the scenes or whether it was the physical work every player put in the work to make sure that they gave themselves the best opportunity to succeed. So that two-week preparation beforehand was really valuable. And then the warm-up games really give you a good indication of how you can acclimatise and how you can get up to scratch with where you need to be and I think those are really valuable for us as well even though it did rain quite a lot in Trivandrum," said Ryan.
Netherlands squad: Scott Edwards (c), Max O'Dowd, Bas de Leede, Vikram Singh, Teja Nidamanuru, Paul van Meekeren, Colin Ackermann, Roelof van der Merwe, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Ryan Klein, Wesley Barresi, Saqib Zulfiqar, Shariz Ahmad, Sybrand Engelbrecht.
England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Brydon Carse, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.