Bridgetown [Barbados], June 24 (ANI): Following his side’s 10-wicket loss to England in their Super Eights ICC T20 World Cup clash, United States of America (USA) all-rounder Corey Anderson said that though there are a lot of things to improve on for the country in their cricket, the players can still hold their heads high after a historic qualification to the Super Eights stage.
Jordan’s four-wicket haul, including England’s first-ever T20I hat-trick and skipper Jos Buttler’s carnage with the bat, were the highlights as the defending champions stormed into the semifinals with a 10-wicket win over the USA at Barbados. Though the USA has been knocked out of the tournament with three losses in Super Eights, the win against Pakistan and the fight shown against India and South Africa in crucial games have definitely helped the associate member of ICC to get a lot of eyeballs and win hearts of fans worldwide.
Following the loss, in the post-match press conference, Anderson said, “I mean, there is probably a lot of areas that we need to improve on. We are still an Associate Nation, growing, and trying to get a bigger player pool. Making it through the Super 8s was obviously a historic occasion for the USA, but we did want to show that we were worthy of being in that Super 8 and I thought in the first game against South Africa we did a really good job.”
“The last couple of games have just been not quite there, but that is what happens in these Super 8 comps is the bigger boys start to really show up and they are kind of hitting their stride right at the back end of this comp. The more we have played as well, the more footage they have on us, we are a little bit unknown coming into the competition, and that is kind of part of cricket.”
“As soon as you get seen and you do a couple of things, everyone starts circling and wondering what’s going on, how do we get them out, where are the weaknesses, and where are the strengths. I think the guys have probably found themselves wanting a little bit in that regard. But again, it is a great learning experience.”
“We do not get to play against these big teams often or at all. So, anything that we can play against these guys is hugely valuable. Again, moving into another two-year cycle of playing the World Cup in India, I think that is going to be extremely helpful to look back. It is probably a little bit raw at the moment, obviously, but yeah there is heaps of learnings out of that,” he concluded.
On his own performances, Anderson admitted that he was “lacklustre” even though different players stepped up for the team’s cause.
“Unfortunately, I could not chime in and help when, probably, the wheels were falling off a little bit. But again, that is cricket, it is a short comp in the whole scheme of things and you get caught on the hop and it can go a little bit pear-shaped. So, I was probably showing a little bit of a glimpse today, but again it was probably just a little too late as well,” he added.
In five innings, Anderson scored 66 runs at an average of 16.50 and a strike rate of 91.66, with the best score of 29. He also took a wicket. A lot was expected from Corey given his status as an ex-New Zealand cricketer.
On the atmosphere within the team, Corey said that the players are “hurt and disappointed” but expressed the need to look at the bigger picture, that the disappointment of losing to big teams now and knowing well they can do better means the team can give more to their fans and the sport.
“I think the public’s perception and expectation of us is probably very much still that we are an Associate nation, and yes, we are. But we have got extremely good talent in the US, and this was a massive stepping stone in showing that. I think the boys can hold their heads high and be proud of what they have done. Because again, I think we have probably turned the world’s attention to the US for them to say we are here to play,” he added.
On what the performance means for USA cricket and the sport in the country, Anderson said that the “sky is the limit”.
“We have had obviously, the last few years there have always been whispers about what is happening in America with cricket, and obviously we saw Major League Cricket last year and we have had a lot more guys become eligible to play for the USA and that has been able to grow the player pool. You have seen some of the talent on show here today and what we can offer and hopefully in years to come as well we can kind of grow that,” he added.
Anderson said that the organic growth of the game will take time and USA is trying to make the most of their exposure to big competition and bilateral series.
“Ideally, we can get some bigger countries coming across and they are just going to be learning experiences for guys and Major League next month’s obviously going to be a big, big thing again for American cricket. Yeah, and hopefully that can be another, another successful campaign,” he concluded.
Coming to the match, England won the toss and put USA to bat first. Nitish Kumar (30 in 24 balls, with a four and two sixes), Corey Anderson (29 in 28 balls, with a six) and Harmeet Singh (21 in 17 balls, with two fours and a six) played crucial knocks, but England knocked down the co-hosts for 115 runs in 18.5 overs.
Chris Jordan (4/10) was the pick of the bowlers for England. Adil Rashid (2/13), and Sam Curran (2/23) also bowled really well for England.
England chased down the target in just 9.4 overs, with skipper Buttler (83* in 38 balls, with six fours and seven sixes) and Phil Salt (25* in 21 balls, with two fours) unleashing carnage on the USA.
Jordan managed to take a hat-trick, getting four wickets in his third over.
Rashid took home the ‘Player of the Match’ award. (ANI)
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