T20 World Cup 2021 | Netherlands cricket is here and we want to go up against the big boys, says coach Ryan Campbell
Netherlands head coach Ryan Campbell has said that the team is looking forward to competing with everyone and not just want to be a one-off wonder in the showpiece event. Netherlands has been famous for winning two matches against England in the 2009 and 2014 T20 World Cup editions.
Netherlands have played three editions of the world cup in 2009, 2014 and 2016. They beat England in the 2009 and 2014 editions. Ahead of Netherlands Group A encounter against Ireland on Monday, Campbell said that they have a history of beating England in the world event but now they are looking to compete against the "big boys" by qualifying into the Super 12 stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE and Oman.
"History says we win one game against England every now and again in a World Cup, but we don't want to be just known as a one-off wonder, we want to compete with everyone. So I think the pressure is also on us because we want to be in the final 12, and we want to go up against the big boys, we want to show to the world that Netherlands cricket is here and it's here to push back. Rightly or wrongly, I put a tag on this squad as probably the greatest that we've ever assembled in the Netherlands, and with that comes its own pressures and it puts pressure on myself, but that's the belief I have in the squad," Campbell said.
Meanwhile, team's captain Pieter Seelaar cleared the air about his statement which appears to 'berate' the Sri Lanka cricket team.
"Yeah, actually I got misquoted there, because obviously Sri Lanka is the best team in this group. And I did say that they should go through. The only thing I meant was that us three - Ireland, ourselves and Namibia - will give them the hardest time possible. And I didn't mean to say that Sri Lanka is not going to go through. I'm just going to say we're going to make it as tough because I think Sri Lanka needs to go through as a Full Member and an established cricket nation and we are, especially us and Namibia, upcoming cricket nations who want their spot, and they need that spot, and that's the difference.
"What I really want to make clear is that I wasn't being disrespectful to Sri Lanka. Obviously, you know, with social media nowadays there's been a bit of banter, which is fine, and there have been comments that are not right. But I never meant to disrespect Sri Lanka," Seelaar said.
Campbell added that the team has aspirations to make a lasting impact in the world cricket.
"We have two Full Members in our group and of course they should go through, they're the ones that are the best 12 teams in the world, with all the cash and all the players. So us little fellas like the Netherlands and Namibia, we may be here to make up the group, but let me tell you, we've got a bit of bite about us. So I think if either of those teams don't show up they're in a lot of trouble.
"We've shown that against Ireland a number of times, the history of the Netherlands has shown that we step up on the biggest stage. But again we have our own pressures. We want to be known as one of the great teams around the world, we don't want to be just an Associate team. We are now in the Super League compete against the best 12 teams in the world, we want to be competing with that,” Campbell added.
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