Netherlands deserve to hold qualifier trophy, feels Pieter Seelaar
The T20 World Cup qualifiers have finally concluded after 51 matches and it's Netherlands who bagged the trophy, in their third attempt. While Dutch skipper Seelaar stressed on preparing for the gala event Down Under, PNG captain Vala was proud of the way they fought and stressed on working hard.
After sharing the trophy in 2008 and 2015, Netherlands have finally laid their hands on the T20 World Cup qualifiers trophy as they decimated Papua New Guinea by seven wickets in the final match. This brought the qualifying campaign to its end after 51 matches.
Netherlands, PNG, Ireland, Namibia, Scotland and Oman have qualified for the Australian extravaganza in a year's time. They will be playing the first group stage along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, after which the top four teams will advance to the main round of the T20 World Cup. Netherlands skipper Pieter Seelaar is pretty happy with the way his team bounced back after struggling early on in the tournament.
"Very pleased and proud, proud of the team. We struggled a bit in Oman. But we arrived here and did well. Deservingly, we are holding the trophy all by ourselves after sharing it with Scotland and Ireland previously," Cricbuzz quoted Seelaar as saying.
The Dutch skipper also went on to heap Ben Cooper and Donald Glover with praises. Seelaar also credited the PNG team for the fight they put up as he acknowledged discipline being their key to success.
"The way Ben (Cooper) batted at the top was very very important. We just make sure in a year's time, we need to be very well prepared. With the team we have got, we should be well placed. He (Donald Glover) impressed everyone with his pace in club cricket a couple of years back. PNG plays some very disciplined cricket. Our plans tonight were a little tight. But they have a very good team and they have showed the world that they belong here."
Although Papua New Guinea failed to replicate their group stage heroics in the final, they, too, booked their tickets to Australia by finishing top of their group. PNG skipper Assad Vala revealed that he was proud of the way his team played but also acknowledged the fact that they will need to improve their batting if they want to make a strong case Down Under.
'We have made our country very proud. I was happy with the way we fought. The way Ackermann and ten Doeschate batted made us learn that we should have batted like them. He (Damien Ravu) got dropped and came back to lead our attack. That shows his character. Our batting let us down. It wasn't up to the mark at this level. We need to work on it," Vala said.