New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus has expressed displeasure over his team’s training schedule ahead of Thursday’s Men’s T20 World Cup match against India, saying that they didn’t get an opportunity to practice under floodlights at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Namibia lost their opening match to the Netherlands by seven wickets on Tuesday in a morning fixture. Coach Craig Williams had indicated the team planned an evening training session to prepare for the day-night encounter against India, the defending champions.
However, Namibia were allocated an afternoon practice slot on Wednesday while India trained during evening hours both days leading up to the contest. In a further twist, Canada – who will face the UAE in a 3 pm start on Friday – were trained alongside India under lights.
“We haven’t got any night games or day and night games in Namibia. Infrastructure-wise, maybe that is the big challenge for us. Barring the guys that have played in the Nepal Premier League or the ILT20, or at a World Cup before, not many are accustomed to playing under the lights.”
“We have not been given a night training before this game. India had two, and today, Canada (before their game against the UAE on Friday afternoon) has one too (this evening). Make of that what you want… We are just going to rock up and do it the Namibian way, which is to fight,” said Erasmus in the pre-match press conference.
He also called on his younger players to embrace the occasion and stay in the moment when they face India in front of an expected 40,000-strong crowd. Erasmus acknowledged the magnitude of the occasion while insisting his team should not be overawed by their star-studded opponents.
“I think it’s a big moment. We are no stranger to the players, we see them on TV a lot in the IPL and international cricket. So you kind of know who you are going to face. But I think in terms of exposure, and in terms of the size of the event that it is, it’s going to be a very good experience for the younger players to play under the lights in front of 40,000 noisy fans. It’s going to be very cool.”
He further outlined a simple approach for his team to maximize their chances against the heavily favoured tournament co-hosts. “Stay in the moment. Play the ball as it comes and enjoy the occasion. If we’re overawed by the situation, the quality of the opposition, or the crowd, we probably won’t enjoy the night.
“But if we stay present and keep a clear mind, our chances of success naturally go up. In previous tournaments as well, associate teams have had great successes. Some teams now feel like they truly belong at this level,” he added.
Erasmus expects batting-friendly conditions at the compact venue, which has developed a reputation for high-scoring encounters during IPL. “It’s going to be a batting-friendly pitch. It’s quite a small ground as well, so it’s going to be like a boundaries type of game.
“I’m sure that’s the way the Indian batters have also set up their score over the last year or so, and how they want to go about their business is really putting bowlers under pressure. So they have to be ready for that kind of challenge. It’s a good pitch, also in the IPL, I believe, and in other games, so it’s quite a high scoring one in average,” he said.
He signed off by talking about the importance of Namibia’s all-round capabilities, particularly highlighting the contributions of left-arm pacer Ruben Trumpelmann and fast-bowling all-rounder JJ Smit.
“We’re a team that in many senses our success has been based around a lot of all-rounders like Trumpelmann and Smit and guys who do two or three disciplines very well. So I think Smit and Trumpelmann have balanced out our team very well.
“In the past due to their contributions, we’ve had an uptick in our results – so it goes to show their importance as members of the squad. So, it goes without saying that we don’t need a one-man performance. I do think that some of the senior guys need to stand up, especially on big occasions like that,” he concluded.
–IANS
nr/
