We can beat any side if we play our best brand of cricket: Dutch captain Edwards after stunning South Africa
The Hindu
Netherlands' historic upset win over South Africa not a fluke, Dutch captain Edwards says they can beat any side if they play their best
The historic upset win over South Africa is not a fluke as Netherlands have the potential to beat any side in the ongoing World Cup if they play their best brand of cricket, asserted captain Scott Edwards.
The Dutch stunned South Africa by 38 runs in their round-robin league clash here on Tuesday, their first win against a Test playing nation in World Cup history. The match was reduced to 43-over-a-side affair due to rain.
"We go into every game with our plans and our ways that we're going to try and win the game. For us it's just about playing our best brand of cricket and we feel like if we play well enough on the day, we can beat any side," Edwards said at the post-match press conference.
It was also Netherlands' third 50-over World Cup win and first in 16 years. They recorded their maiden victory against Namibia in the 2003 edition in South Africa. Their second win was against Scotland in the 2007 edition in the West Indies.
Netherlands made it to the main tournament in India through the qualifying round and Edwards said his side did not come here just to make up numbers.
"Yeah, absolutely. I think 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. We're here to win games of cricket and give ourselves the best chance to make the next stage," Edwards said.
"South Africa is obviously a very strong side and they'll be close to that semi-final spot. So, if we want to be amongst them, we've got to beat sides like this," said the 27-year-old wicketkeeper.