NEWS
Follow UsThe Men's Cricket World Cup Super League run between 2020 and 2023 was the last of its kind, as the ICC decided to do away with the format for the next cycle. With the 2027 World Cup set to be played in a new avatar, there have been many changes to the existing structure that have been mauled.
While full members have welcomed the move, it has typically come as a challenge for the smaller teams like the Netherlands, who are more concerned with the lack of game-time for the future. But after the Super League helped them with a position in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, it is time for them to celebrate and soak in the experience that comes along with it.
“Experience of the whole Super League, having played against bigger nations, was fantastic for us,” said Bas de Leede in the pre-match press conference on Thursday ahead of their match against Pakistan in Hyderabad. “And Pakistan, having played them last year in Rotterdam in three ODIs, it'll be nice to sort of be familiar with the team and the players and stuff, having played them before.
“So, I think that will help us a little bit. But obviously, you know, they've evolved. They've gotten better. They've got different skills now as well, even with Shaheen coming back, who didn't play that series. So, it's nice to have played them before. But yeah, obviously, we still make our plans accordingly.”
Also Read : Sense of familiarity greets Pakistan and the Netherlands in Hyderabad
Mitchell Starc took a hat-trick against the Netherlands in the warm-up game in Thiruvananthapuram, exposing their frailties against high-quality left-arm swing bowling. With Pakistan having Shaheen Shah Afridi at their disposal, it is going to be baptism by fire for the Dutch people. De Leede admitted that while adding that Shaheen was the focal point of their preparation.
“Shaheen and Haris Rauf are two quality pacers. Something we don't face too often is left-arm swing. It was a little bit of a wake-up call for us against Mitchell Starc the other day, but I think we still need to be confident in our abilities. Shaheen has been a focus point for us in our preparation and also our analysis. So, hopefully we're going to play him better than we did against Starc the other day,” de Leede added.
