The Netherlands’ victory over South Africa in the Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign is nothing short of a fairytale story. Scott Edwards‘ men successfully defended the total of 245 runs in a rain-affected match on Tuesday, showing what they can do against one of the finest teams in the world. South Africa, who were unbeaten in the tournament so far, were simply outmatched by the passion the Dutch players showed on the field in Dharamsala. The result also prompted former Netherlands coach Ryan Campbell to give a befitting reply to those branding his former team ‘Little Guys’.
Campbell was the Netherlands’ head coach since taking over the job in January 2017. In May 2022, however, Ryan Cook replaced Campbell after the latter had to be admitted to the hospital following cardiac arrest.
On Tuesday, Campbell was a delighted man, seeing his former side setting the World Cup on fire with their performance against the Proteas.
“For any cricket fans out there who still don’t want “Little Guys” at the @cricketworldcup, I hope you enjoyed today,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
For any cricket fans out there who still don’t want “Little Guys” at the @cricketworldcup , I hope you enjoyed today… @KNCBcricket
— Ryan Campbell (@cambo_19) October 17, 2023
“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,” Netherlands skipper Scott Edwards said at the post-match press conference.
It was also the 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.
With PTI inputs
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