ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2022

October 19, 2022

Ryan Cook

Kardinia Park

Netherlands

Pre Match Media Conference

Q. Yesterday Sri Lanka beat UAE; how challenging will be this match?

RYAN COOK: I think it'll be a very challenging match. Obviously they're a good team and coming off some good form in the Asia Cup.

The boys are up for it, but we know there will be a challenge there.

Q. How about the preparation for this match?

RYAN COOK: The preparation from the start has been excellent. We've got a lot of information obviously on each team, and our preparation has been very long in comparison to what it was last year. So guys are really confident going into the game and very clear in what our plans need to be.

Q. What is the plan for the Sri Lankan spinners Hasaranga and Theekshana?

RYAN COOK: Yeah, actually in our coaching staff we've got a few guys who have played with Hasaranga, and obviously we played against Sri Lanka last year, so guys are aware of the threat that they'll face. We'll obviously have our plans for them and try and execute that as well as we can on the day.

Q. In the last two games, do you look back with a little bit of regret at the run rate which now leaves you in a must-win situation for this game? If you had that cushion, you could still go in with more room to maneuver in this last game.

RYAN COOK: Can you repeat the question, please?

Q. I was talking about the run rate situation where you know you obviously tried yesterday to get a win early and then you had to sort of make sure that you win, but just looking back, is there any regret with the run rate scenario which now leaves you without any room to maneuver?

RYAN COOK: Yeah, we were fully aware of obviously the net run rates and the role that they might play in this tournament, and we did try our best obviously to try and get the score as quickly as possible yesterday. Not that that was the first objective, but rather to win the match.

But I think that we did try and up the run rate when we felt that we were in a good position, and obviously we just were grateful to be able to get over the line in those two games and get the four points on the board.

Q. How do you feel looking at the situation when you have to play the first round, you're almost in a sudden death almost all the time?

RYAN COOK: I think everyone knows that there's pressure games in these tournaments, and just to get to this point in the World Cup qualifiers you often have these types of games, as well.

We're fully prepared for being able to have these kind of knockout-type games, and then obviously we know we've got to play against good teams in this competition who all have various threats, and we obviously prepare for those eventualities.

In terms of meeting those challenges, the guys are in a good space to do that.

Q. You spoke about some of your coaching staff having played with the Sri Lanka spinners. Can you elaborate a little bit on that?

RYAN COOK: Yeah, Dan Christian is part of our coaching staff. He's obviously played with Hasaranga, and obviously Gary Kirsten coaches at the IPL, and he obviously puts a lot of plans in place to deal with those spinners in the IPL space, as well.

We've got a bit of inside information in terms of that and guys that have faced them and obviously played against them previously for other teams.

Q. Ryan, the left-handed spinner, Pringle, he had a bit of a difficult time against England earlier in the summer, but he seems to be a little bit of a changed bowler with a bit of drift going, and he's bowling a lot better. Is it the experience that changes a bowler at this level, or do you think it has to do with coaching or the play itself improving in the short period?

RYAN COOK: I think a combination of all of those. Obviously he's come in, he's a young player, 19, 20 years old, having to learn his craft on the international stage against some high-quality batsmen, as you mentioned, against England. And as he's gone through the summer, he's got to bowl against those kinds of players and learnt a lot along the way.

Obviously, as coaches, we try and help him as much as possible, but credit to him; he's learned really quickly. And that's a great value of our team, is we try and pride ourselves on learning as fast as possible.

Yeah, he certainly has come a long way. In the World Cup qualifiers he was obviously going at about five and a half runs an over there. In the T20 format, he's certainly a really good bowler there.

Q. What does it say about Dutch cricket that there's so many experienced coaches now joining forces for the World Cup? You have yourself, you have a couple of others who are really well known. Does it mean that Dutch cricket is on the rise?

RYAN COOK: Well, I hope so. Very grateful obviously for Gary Kirsten and Dan Christian to be able to join us along with the rest of the coaching staff who have all played at a very high level, as well. We've got a really good coaching staff, great knowledge and really hard work ethic, as well. They bring a great deal to the equation, and obviously we utilise them as in when we need, and yeah, we're very grateful to be able to have them in our coaching ranks.

Q. We all see how the players from associate nations or ODI status nations, they bond together on social media, but is it also in person that players from Netherlands and Namibia and all these teams are doing well are playing at this level, they bond and they can relate to each other with all those things that are happening around them in world cricket?

RYAN COOK: Yeah, I think our team is very unique because of how many Dutch players we have, and then obviously some of the county players that come in outside of that.

Bringing those guys together and creating that cohesion is one thing that we obviously look at really closely and spend a lot of time doing. We've been able to put a lot of things together, but they are just a great bunch of individuals who all get along really well and are all driven towards a greater purpose.

That's just great to see as a coach.