New Delhi, Feb 10 (PTI) Netherlands all-rounder Bas de Leede on Tuesday said a conscious shift in thinking, both individually and as a team has been central to his side’s encouraging start to the men’s T20 World Cup as they recorded a sound seven-wicket win over Namibia.
Netherlands chased down a modest 157-run target with considerable ease at Feroze Shah Kotla ground with de Leede hitting an unbeaten 72.
De Leede said the Dutch camp spent considerable time redefining how they wanted to be perceived at the global event.
“We’ve had a lot of discussion as a team about how we want to play this World Cup. Earlier, maybe we were seen as a 160-run team. Now we believe we can consistently push towards 180 or 200, and that mindset change has really shaped how we train and prepare,” De Leede said at the post match press conference.
That belief was forged away from the spotlight.
The Netherlands squad spent nearly three months training indoors during the European winter, often in freezing conditions. According to de Leede, the difficult preparation only strengthened the group’s mental resilience.
“When you’ve put in that kind of work back home, you really want to see it come out in games. Being in India now, in much nicer conditions, it’s rewarding to see that preparation translate into performances.” Individually, de Leede also spoke about learning to stay mentally uncluttered, especially after past setbacks.
During his previous visit to Delhi in October 2023 during the World Cup, he had walked away with an unwanted record of conceded the most runs by a bowler in an ODI match after returning with figures of 2/115 while playing against Australia.
“It honestly wasn’t in the back of my mind. I’m pretty quick at forgetting performances, good or bad. That helps you stay present and focus on what you need to do on the day,” he said.
The 24-year-old also spoke about recent career decisions. After suffering two stress fractures in his lower back over the past year, de Leede reassessed what kind of cricket suited him best.
Walking away from a county contract with Durham was not easy, but he felt it was the right call.
“It made me think about what kind of cricket I wanted to play. With so much four-day cricket in England, I felt this was the right time to focus on white-ball cricket and manage my body better,” he explained.
Talking about the narrow defeat against Pakistan earlier in the tournament in Colombo, de Leede said the mood in the camp remained positive and constructive.
“We were disappointed because we felt we could have won that game, but the conversations were about learning. With the ball, we adapted really well to pull them back, and with the bat it was about understanding how to manage the middle phase better.” With challenging fixtures ahead, including games against the USA and hosts India, de Leede believes the Netherlands’ biggest strength lies in their conviction.
“We’re really convinced about the style of cricket we want to play. It’s about building on performances like this and trusting the process we’ve committed to,” he said.
While the Netherlands looked ahead with optimism, Namibia coach Craig Williams offered a candid assessment of where his side fell short.
“We were probably 20–30 runs short on the board given the conditions. Our bowlers put in a really good effort to defend it, but we kept losing wickets throughout the innings and didn’t set ourselves up for the death,” said Williams.
The coach felt Namibia had shown the right intent early on, especially given the challenging nature of the pitch.
“We knew it would be tough up front and I actually think we set it up quite nicely in the first eight overs. But we didn’t get that one partnership in the middle, and that hurt us,” he said.
The missed chances in the field, he admitted, also shifted momentum. “When you’re defending a total like that, you have to take your chances. Those moments are critical, even though we pride ourselves on our fielding.” Looking ahead to a high-profile clash against India on Thursday, Williams insisted the focus must remain on fundamentals rather than reputation.
“Regardless of who you play, the basics don’t change. You need someone in the top four to bat for a prolonged period and you need partnerships,” he said.
While acknowledging the excitement of playing India in India, Williams emphasised that Namibia’s approach would be to “take the name of the opposition out of it”, stay in a good mental space and trust their preparation as they look to bounce back quickly in the tournament. PTI APS APS APA APA
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