Follow UsThe Netherlands gave Pakistan a run for their money and will hope to put the learning from that game into their next fixture against New Zealand, who brushed aside England comfortably in their first game. Senior Netherlands all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe believes that the trick is to keep the pressure on the opposition for longer periods of time.
"We had Pakistan under a bit of pressure there. Everybody knows that. Obviously, the learning from that is we've got to do it for longer, and that's been discussed, and if you compare it to T20 cricket, it's 30 overs longer. So, it speaks for itself we need to do it for longer and put them under pressure for longer," Van der Merwe said ahead of the team's second World Cup game against the Blackcaps.
While New Zealand are a formidable unit, van der Merwe sees no reason the Netherlands cannot get one over them if they execute their plans well.
"I think every team has plans to batters, and tomorrow's how well we can execute those plans to put them under pressure, and I mean, those two guys played a great partnership in the previous game, but you know we've got our plans to get them out and as we said earlier put pressure on them," the all-rounder said.
"They are a very organised, skilful team, so we know what we're up against a quality team, but if we play the way we play and execute how we want to - we can put them under pressure and win the game."
Speaking of Bas de Leede's all-round show and Vikramjit Singh's well-compiled fifty agianst Pakistan, van der Merwe said, "I think, those two guys, the way they performed alongside Vicky, it's encouraging, it just shows that we do have very skilful players and talented players in our team. And it's not every game relying on one player to turn it around for us, but yeah, it's always encouraging seeing those guys do well.
"Vicky is also another exceptional talent, also still very young, so he's still got to build up a lot of experience, but the signs he has shown, it's very encouraging for Dutch cricket, he plays with a certain amount of flair, and It's yeah, it's lovely to watch, and I think he's one for the future."
Over 300 runs were scored in the warm-ups ahead of the tournament in Hyderabad, but in the match between Netherlands and Pakistan, the surface got slower and slower as the match progressed. Van der Merwe believes his side are going to make the best of having already played on it recently.
"I think it's a good surface. There was something for the bat and ball. If you played well on there, you could score runs. We do have a bit more intel. We've played on the surface, obviously not the same wicket, but we've got a bit of info on it. And it's a good cricket wicket. Boundaries are pretty even, and there is a bit of turn. There's a bit of movement for the seamer. So, if you play good cricket, you can reap the rewards," the 38-year-old said.