'Not here just to have fun': Dutch skipper Scott Edwards after Netherlands' stunning win over South Africa at World Cup
After beating South Africa in another World Cup, Netherlands want to push their limits.
Netherlands beating South Africa twice within a year across two formats can’t be a coincidence. It certainly prompts more careful examination of what Netherlands have been doing right, apart of course areas where South Africa messed up big time.
There was a decent 223, chasing New Zealand’s 322 in the previous match but since Netherlands were setting the target for the first time this World Cup, it should have freed up their batters. It didn’t.
“In both the first two games, we were in decent positions, but we sort of fell away through the middle,” said Netherlands captain Scott Edwards after their memorable win in Dharamsala on Tuesday.
Edwards came out when his side was 82/5, desperate for a resuscitating stand in the face of some probing overs from South Africa. Four consecutive partnerships producing 40, 28, 64 and 41 runs — all featuring Edwards, who top scored with 78 not out — however changed the complexion of the game.
“As a group we pride ourselves on playing total cricket which is guys that are coming in at number 8, 9, 10 have just as much of the ability to put on those partnerships,” said Edwrads.
“But out there batting with them, it was just about giving ourselves a chance to go harder later in the innings. And luckily enough, Roelof and Aryan in there played some unbelievable cameos to get us to what we thought was probably a roundabout a par score.”
Inspired batting from the lower order is hardly surprising these days. But equally astonishing was the way South Africa completely rolled off the Netherlands’ backs. After the fall of the seventh wicket, Netherlands added 105 runs in only 9.1 overs, scoring at a scintillating rate of 11.45 — the highest for any team in a men's ODI among sides who have added 100-plus runs in an innings after the fall of the seventh wicket. Clearly, something was wrong with South Africa.
What must hurt them more are the 32 extras, the highest ever conceded by South Africa in a men's ODI World Cup match, surpassing 29 against UAE in 2015. “That’s something you can control,” said South Africa captain Temba Bavuma. “Getting 30 (32) extras, that is an extra five overs is always going to hurt you. That is a conversation for us to have — whether it is skill or a complacency thing — but in the end it did count for quite a thing.”
South Africa letting Netherlands batters claw back into the game is a trend many big teams haven’t been able to buck in recent years. But with the kind of start they have had in the World Cup, it was difficult to imagine South Africa tripping up in their chase. “We got them to 112/6. From that point, you are probably not looking at anything more than 200. We definitely dropped the ball there letting them get to 240-plus,” said Bavuma.
"With the batting, we were still confident in chasing down that score but we didn't get any partnerships. Them (Netherlands) with their double-spin in the powerplay, was something we did not adapt to. Kudos to them, the way they were able to exploit certain weaknesses within our game."
It’s difficult to ascertain how this win will shape Netherlands’ future though this will surely add a spring in their step in the coming matches. Such is the format of the tournament that the odds of a tournament favourite making the last-four won’t be affected by upsets like this. But Netherlands too want to push their limits.
“After qualifying we were pretty quick to set our minds to what we wanted to do at this tournament. We weren't coming here just to have fun and enjoy it,” said Edwards. “We're here to win games and give ourselves the best chance to make that next stage. South Africa is obviously a very strong side and they'll be close to that semi-final spot. So, yeah, if we want to be amongst it, we've got to beat sides like this.”
