ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2021

October 26, 2021

Matthew Cross

Sheikh Zayed Stadium

Scotland

Pre Match Media Conference

Q. I gather for the game the other day you kind of had some of your family out there in the Middle East. How special was that for you to have them there kind of watching you play in a World Cup for Scotland?

MATTHEW CROSS: Yeah, it's amazing. They were here from the first game in Oman, and they've managed to extend their holiday a little bit. So I'm really pleased they've got to see us get to this stage so far.

Q. Just kind of how big a role have they played in your own kind of cricketing career?

MATTHEW CROSS: Massively, I think. You look back to when I was young and the amount of driving around. Especially living in Aberdeen and driving to Edinburgh all the time, I can't thank them enough, the sacrifices they've made. I'm really pleased and proud I'm representing Scotland on the national stage now and they're able to watch it.

Q. I take it you enjoyed the first week but maybe not so much Sunday?

MATTHEW CROSS: I think I still enjoyed it in the respect that we're now in the Super 12 stage. Look, it was disappointing, but these are the kinds of things that can happen to any team, as we've seen in the tournament already. We've quickly put it behind us and learnt what we needed to and moving on to Namibia tomorrow.

Q. Can I ask just about last night when you guys got back to the hotel, what was it like? Did you kind of sit and reflect on the Afghanistan game, and what kind of learnings come out of that?

MATTHEW CROSS: We had a very brief chat after it. It obviously was very disappointing, but at the same time, T20 comes quick and fast, so there wasn't too much dwelling and chat on the game specifically.

I think it was we've got to back ourselves and believe in what we've done so far. We're playing a team tomorrow in Namibia that we know a bit more about, and we expect to bring a better performance tomorrow.

Q. Was it kind of focus on you just have to hope that just kind of one black and you kind of go back to the way you were playing last week?

MATTHEW CROSS: Yeah, I think with T20 the performances, there's always potential for -- I think Afghanistan played a great game of cricket yesterday, probably the best game of cricket I've played against them. They have three world class spinners, and they showed it last night. It's up to us to show the world class ability we have got moving forward right now.

Q. Does it dent the players' confidence, or how do you kind of bounce back from it?

MATTHEW CROSS: I don't think it dents our confidence in the slightest. Like I said, these kind of performances can happen. At the same time, we've got to move on. We've got four big games to try to put hopefully another full member win on the board and a win against Namibia tomorrow.

Q. I hope you're well. You played Namibia twice in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, and you also got a 50 in the second game. What did you learn from those games in terms of matchups, and how crucial would it be to win tomorrow?

MATTHEW CROSS: Look, Namibia are a very good team. I actually said before the club started, I expected them to go through from our group. I'm pleased that they did. Look, they've got everything covered. They've got experience. They've got a really, really good fielding unit and very tidy bowling.

We know enough about them. We've played against them three our four times in the last couple, maybe three years now. There's no real surprises, but at the same time, we do expect to go out there and win.

Q. Finally, you've been in the UAE and Oman for over a month now. How challenging are these conditions pitch-wise? And given the heat from a wicket keeper's perspective?

MATTHEW CROSS: It's always challenging being a keeper. Look, we've been out here for a long time now. So there's no challenges we're not ready for. Obviously, moving to a different ground tomorrow, we've got to adapt pretty quickly, but that's the same for every team. Hopefully, we'll adapt quicker than Namibia.