ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021

October 18, 2021

Max O'Dowd

Sheikh Zayed Stadium

Netherlands

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good evening, Max. Welcome to the first match presentation of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Here in Abu Dhabi we have Max with us from the Netherlands.

Q. Max, was it a bit of a problem of adapting to the wicket, or that great spell of four wickets, what was the reason?

MAX O'DOWD: I think it was a mixture, to be honest. You can't take away from Curtis. I think he put it on the spot and made us play shots, but that wicket required straight shots, and you can't be playing across the line, I think.

Yeah, just I don't think we adapted quickly enough maybe in the middle, but if you lose four wickets in four balls, it's going to be tough no matter what happens. Yeah, fair play, they bowled extremely well.

Q. Is it a good wicket to bat on?

MAX O'DOWD: I think in the beginning it was a little bit sticky. I don't know what it was. It was a little bit slow, but as the time went on, it felt pretty nice to bat on.

You know, me and Benny having that mix-up probably didn't help at the beginning, and then Bassy missed out on a full one, and we were already into the pump and the power play and just playing catch-up. Then just to lose four wickets like that, it's always going to be extremely tough.

Wicket-wise, it felt pretty nice to bat on towards the end, but the Irish ballers put it on the spot and made it very difficult for us.

Q. Next two games will be very crucial for you now with one game against Sri Lanka and Namibia?

MAX O'DOWD: Absolutely. Two must-win games. We've got Namibia, who we've played before, and we know their strengths, we know their weaknesses, and we're going to have to go out and beat them.

And the same with Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, extremely good opponent. We know that. They know that. It's going to come down to these two games. We're going to have to play with our hearts and with everything we've got.