Namibia's Fielding Edge Could Decide T20 World Cup Clash vs Netherlands

Erasmus drew encouragement from the tournament's opening matches, where associate nations like USA and Nepal pushed higher-ranked opponents like defending champions India and two-time winners England really close on successive days at the Wankhede Stadium. Netherlands also ran Pakistan close, before faltering at decisive moments.

"It's just that I think it's cricketers against each other. If we can take anything from their game, it is that in certain moments in the game, when they competed nicely, there were flipping moments in the game - it happened while fielding, when many of those mistakes were seen."

"I take confidence from the fact that we're quite a good fielding side. Hopefully if we get into a position against any of the so-called higher ranked teams or anyone in our group, and we can play those moments really well, I think we should be confident of also coming on the right side of the results," said Erasmus, while replying to a query from IANS in the pre-match press conference on Monday.

He also emphatically dismissed the distinction between Test nations and so-called associate countries, saying that qualification for the T20 World Cup was merit-based regardless of infrastructure or status. "I think all the teams that have qualified for the World Cup have just qualified as normal nations. They've qualified through rankings and positioning in their regions.

"So they don't really come here as an associate nation. That's just a tag that is put on the status of the countries all across the world, Test nations and associate nations because of infrastructure and the fact that you must qualify for it. But I don't see anyone as less or as an associate nation.

"Those first four games showed that it wasn't any flukes that those teams competed. They competed on very good conditions and good wickets. They competed with skill, with mental skill. So no, I don't think there's been any flukes like what we've seen thus far in the World Cup," he added.

Erasmus further said the key difference between victories and narrow defeats for lower-ranked teams was exposure to high-pressure situations. "It's been real proper just bat against ball cricket between teams, not associate teams, just the cricket teams. So for us, it's always about trying to shake off that feeling that you are less than the other nations and that you come from the associate nations."

"For me, it's just an exposure thing. If we play those countries more often, then I think that 14, 15 over mark, most of the teams that lost the first four games couldn't get over the line. If we have that exposure, then those flipping moments will turn it into more wins."

"Lots of the lower ranked teams that qualified in this World Cup have had good successes over the years, beating, I think, almost all of the test nations. They have been beaten, if I'm not correct - maybe not India and Australia. I'm not sure about the stats, but they show that they belong, especially in this format. So I don't think it's any good to put any tags on it," he elaborated.

Namibia have enlisted former South Africa opener Gary Kirsten as a consultant coach, with the 2011 World Cup-winning mentor bringing both technical expertise and a people-first approach especially with Namibia not having played international cricket in India and Sri Lanka.

"He obviously has lots of experience not only in the IPL but as you say with the 2011 winning squad. So definitely brings a winning edge to it and also brings lots of knowledge of the different grounds. But I think looking past that, I think it's very nice in terms of management that you have so many mentor-type coaches who really like to bring the human side first and they really like to connect with the players."

"I think that's what we respect most about Gary and all the other coaches on our staff. But cricket is very much conditions based and it's awesome to have him around. He knows all the grounds around here and also opposition players he knows because he has been with so many different players and as you say, immense experience," he added.

Erasmus also stated his team had familiarised themselves thoroughly with conditions at the Arun Jaitley Stadium since Sunday evening. "We've been here two or three days now and pitches were open so we had a good look and a feel. We saw the groundsmen, how they prepared even for many hours in this morning session and in the afternoon session. We've been here for afternoon and morning training. So we're well accustomed and got a good feel of most of the day," he said.

Asked about Namibia's upcoming match against hosts India at the same venue on February 12, Erasmus said his side's complete focus remained on Tuesday's opener against the Netherlands.

"No, all our energy is on the Netherlands game now. It's such a different game that we're going to face as opposed to the India game. We haven't even thought about the 12th. We're only thinking about the next 24 hours and obviously our attention is on ourselves first. It's about playing our best cricket, putting our best processes in place, accessing our best skills, and strengths," he said.

Erasmus signed off by noting that execution would matter more than tactical complexity, adding that comprehensive analysis had levelled the playing field in terms of information of opposition players.

"Yes, if you can match up a little bit with the opposition and bowl the right bowlers to their batters and sort of have the right batsmen in at the right time to take down their bowlers, then I guess it's a good thing to look at the opposition."

"Obviously teams do so much analysis these days that the tactical side of the game is there's so much work being put in that sort of everyone has the information, everyone has the knowledge and the information out there to prepare and because everyone's a little bit more on an even keel with that, I think it's more about delivering your processes on the day than trying to outsmart the opposition too much with nosy tactics or anything."

- IANS