We can't afford to commit mistakes: Strauss
England captain Andrew Strauss was livid that his side committed so many mistakes in bowling and fielding against the Netherlands and said they will have to correct these quickly if they fancy any chance of winning World Cup silverware.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: February 22, 2011 11:18 PM IST
England captain Andrew Strauss was livid that his side committed so many mistakes in bowling and fielding against the Netherlands and said they will have to correct these quickly if they fancy any chance of winning World Cup silverware.
"We got a lot of things wrong with our bowling and fielding. We let them (the Netherlands) off the hook three to four times (drop catches). It was a very poor performance in bowling and we were very disappointing while fielding," Strauss said after his side's six-wicket win.
England allowed the Netherlands to score 292 for six though they chased down the target with eight balls to spare.
"We can't afford to commit these mistakes. We have to correct our mistakes quickly as some big matches are coming up including against India (in Bangalore on February 27)," Strauss said.
Strauss praised his batsmen for the solid performance though he conceded that it was not an easy run chase. "Thankfully the batsmen batted beautifully. It was a very good ODI wicket and we knew if we kept wickets in hand we'd have a good chance. We had nerves towards the end (of run chase) though," said Strauss who made 88 in his sides 296 for four.
Strauss said his side was looking to spoil India's party in their second Group B match in Bangalore on February 27. "We are very excited about that match. I hope it would be a great match in front of a big crowd. The atmosphere would be great and we are hoping to spoil India's party," he said.
The Netherlands captain Peter Borren rues that his side had let slip a chance to score an upset win.
"292 was a very good score but we were wanting while defending. England batted very well, credit to them. We bowled at both sides of the wickets, perhaps that might have been a mistake. That costs us," he said.
"But we played a very good game today. We had wanted to be competitive against the top teams and we did just that. Today it was potentially a chance for an upset win for us. It did not happen. We want to have such chances in the coming matches and next time we hope to take it," he added.
Man-of-the-match Ryan ten Doeschate of the Netherlands said his century was a special one.
"It was pretty special for me. I told my team-mates we're put out a really good performance here on the biggest stage. There wasn't too much planning but we will assess as we went along. I haven't set personal goals for the World Cup but I want us to carry on playing great cricket," said ten Doeschate, who hit 110-ball 119 and then took two wickets for an all-round show.