2 November - Lucknow - Netherlands player Colin Ackermann pre-match press conference
[Reporter:]
So what are the plans of the team and expectation of the team for this match?
[Colin Ackermann:]
Yeah, well, the plan is to win tomorrow. Obviously got some momentum from our previous game against Bangladesh. I think we're pretty lucky that we've played here before at this venue. I don't think Afghanistan have played here before. So, we're sort of familiar to the conditions from our game [against] Sri Lanka. So hope that will give us a few positives leading into tomorrow.
[Reporter:]
Top order has been a bit of bit of concern for you guys. There have been so many batting collapses up the order. Has there been any talk about it in the dressing room?
[Colin Ackermann:]
Yeah, obviously, we haven't formed the foundation that we would have liked as a batting unit so far this tournament, but I suppose we have to look individually at how we're getting out. We haven't played the perfect game yet with the bat. We know that our middle order and our lower order are very capable of scoring runs towards the back end.
So, I think if we can set the game up as a top order, top 3- 4 batters. It just takes two guys to form a good partnership and we'll set up a very good score.
[Reporter:]
So you are coming, you guys are coming here after defeating Bangladesh. So I believe that, you know, the spirit levels must be high in the dressing room but given the threat the Afghanistan spin department poses, what are your plans to counter them?
[Colin Ackermann:]
Yeah, they've obviously got three very good spinners that have been successful in T20 cricket. The 50 over format is different. You don't have to go after the spinners from, from ball one. So it gives us an opportunity to have a look at them to see how the conditions are playing out there. I think the teams that have done well against them have kind of taken the game deep and not given them any wickets in the middle overs. But in saying that they've also got two or three very good seamers that are dangerous. So it's about getting through the power play first and then combating the spin in the middle overs.
[Reporter:]
Did you guys know about that Champions Trophy qualification scenario before the tournament? And you guys are looking for it like right now?
[Colin Ackermann:]
No, we didn't know about it before the tournament. I don't think any teams knew about it before we started. But we are here at a World Cup, we're not playing the Champions Trophy. We first need to compete at this tournament before we look at the Champions Trophy.
[Reporter:]
So the focus changed to the top four of semifinal to the champion pre-qualification or still the focus is semifinal?
[Colin Ackermann:]
The focus is semifinal for us. We know that if we win our next three games, we'll make the semifinal. That is our focus at this stage. We're not interested in what's happening in two years’ time. We've got a game to win tomorrow.
[Reporter:]
The last two games played here, the conditions have been pretty bowler friendly, in that regard, is there a case for Ryan Klein to feature in tomorrow's game?
[Colin Ackermann:]
Yeah, I don't know. I'm not too sure. We've only seen the wicket for the first time now this afternoon. It's been undercovers yesterday. So we will have a good look at the wicket today and see how we go. But yeah, it has been quite bowler friendly for the India versus England game. The seamers did pretty well as well. So, we'll have to assess conditions as always and take it from there.
[Reporter:]
I would like to ask you a little bit about Aryan Dutt. You guys have been using him as an opening bowler, which is a rarity, like spin bowler bowling in the starting of the inning. So what is the thought process and how are you guys giving him confidence to bowl up front?
[Colin Ackermann:]
I think that he's done extremely well this tournament for us. He's not only someone that can contain but he can also take wickets. I think we've seen that. He's a special talent. Not many batters have looked to go after him. So it means that we can squeeze from one end and the seamers can attack from the other end. So he's a highly skilled bowler, and he's still very young. And he'll grow from strength to strength. But he's a huge, huge asset for us in this team.
[Reporter:]
Adding to that question of Aryan, so he's been hitting sixes like we have seen he's quite capable of clearing the rope. Is there any talk in the team about promoting his batting order because it feels like he is batting way down the order. Is there anything about the team in the future, in the next games that we'll see him batting up the order?
[Colin Ackermann:]
Yeah, I think it's one of our strengths of our team is that we bat all the way down. We've got guys that are batting at 8 and 9. We've got Logan van Beek and Roelof van der Merwe at 8 and 9 that have a lot of experience. We know Aryan's capabilities with the bat, but I think it's about allowing him to come in according to the situation. We saw against Africa, the situation was perfect for him to come in and hit from ball one, and that's kind of his strength. So it depends on the situation, but there are also guys that are batting ahead of him that have done it before in the past.
[Reporter:]
The way Afghanistan is chasing in the World Cup right now, they are basically taking singles and pacing the innings well. So what is the plan to change that, to break the middle order, what the Afghanistan have?
[Colin Ackermann:]
Yeah, I think if you look at the three and four bats, they look to bat deep to take the game towards the back end. So I think for us, it's about applying pressure when they first come to the wicket, and not to give them too many easy singles. We've seen that Scott Edwards, our captain, isn't afraid to bring fielders into the ring to try and force the batters to play certain shots that they wouldn't normally want to play. So that'll be the plan is to try and force him to play high-risk shots from the get-go.
[Reporter:]
I guess it is the third match in Lucknow of your team. Tell me about this city. You guys enjoyed in Dharamshala. We have seen some folk dance. What you have done here? Lucknow is famous for its cuisine and all so have you guys tried that have you visited places - the historical places?
[Colin Ackermann:]
No, we haven't ventured out in Lucknow. We had a sponsors event a couple of nights ago. So the training schedule is also quite hectic. So we need to relax as well and enjoy our time up, or our feet up, rather. There's also a little bit of sickness going around. So guys are confined to their rooms at the moment.
[Reporter:]
It's quite natural we talk about head-to-head when two teams go against each other in the World Cup. You guys played against Afghanistan last year with all three matches being won by Afghanistan after they batted first. Is that something which is going through the back of your mind? Is that something which will affect your planning?
[Colin Ackermann:]
No, I don't think so. Those games were quite a long time ago, probably was the beginning of 2022. So quite a long time ago. We were also a very different team to back then. The team was quite inexperienced on that tour, so we're not going to look too far into that fixture.
[Reporter:]
Speaking about the Netherlands - the mission of making it to the semi-finals, given that now just three games to go, Afghanistan, then England, and then India. So it's not going to be a, you know, the challenges are going to be higher with every game. So how you guys are coping with that, what's the basic idea to tackle the upcoming games when you know that every game is important and if you want to make it to the semi-finals, you cannot afford to be losing any of them.
[Colin Ackermann:]
Yeah, every game is a must-win for us now. We are well aware of that. We can't look too far ahead into the England and India game yet. So, all our focus is and preparation is to win in this game first and foremost before we approach any other game this tournament.