Netherland’s Max O’Dowd praises teams’ effort after a big win against Zimbabwe

Netherlands beat Zimbabwe by five wickets to register their first Super 12 win in the T20 World Cup 2022 tournament on Wednesday (November 2). Netherlands lost their opening three games in the Super 12 round and were kicked out of the race for the semi-final round after their six-wicket loss against Pakistan. But they produced an impressive all-round display against Zimbabwe to earn a deserved and memorable win at Adelaide Oval.

Paul van Meekeren took three wickets and Bas de Leede grabbed two to bowl out Zimbabwe on just 117 runs while bowling first. Then the star batter Max O’Dowd smashed 52 runs off just 47 balls to guide his team to a big five-wicket win when 12 balls remained. However, two points haven’t helped them much in the points table but they hammered Zimbabwe’s chances to finish in the top two positions for sure.

We don’t get the same amount of funding as other teams get: Max O’Dowd

O’Dowd won the player of the match award for his brilliant fifty and credited his team for a big win in a post-match press conference. He lauded his teammates for collective team efforts and also revealed their struggles when asked about the team’s future plans as Dutch cricketers are making a name for themselves against strong opponents.

“It’s a mixture and i think it comes to basic funding. We don’t get the same amount of funding as other teams get and there is no real cash involved for us to be professional cricketers. A lot of guys have to go overseas to play and earn money. Guys are working two jobs and also playing cricket full-time which has helped us improve the game and it is a big point for me,” Max O’Dowd answered to a question from CricTracker reporter Umesh Sharma in a post-match conference.