World Cup 2023: Netherlands haven't hit the mark fully since victory over South Africa, says skipper Scott Edwards

Kolkata: Netherlands produced one of the biggest upsets of the ongoing World Cup when they stunned South Africa, but since then their campaign has fallen flat and the Dutch skipper Scott Edwards on Friday said they have to keep getting better to win games. World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table Netherlands’ win against South Africa in the third round remains their solitary win and the Dutch, who are the only Associate Nation in the global showpiece, now stare at an early elimination. “I think we’ve played a lot of good cricket so far in this tournament. But we just have to be better than what we have been to make sure we keep winning games here,” the wicketkeeper-batter told reporters on the eve of their match against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Netherlands qualified for the quadrennial event after toppling two-time champion West Indies in the qualifying tournament. Their hopes hinge a lot on their batting line-up but they have failed to fire in unison which has cost them dear. In their last match, the Dutch folded for 90 as Australia secured their biggest win in ODI World Cup history with a massive 309-run victory. “We had big expectations coming through and obviously winning against South Africa was one step forward and we probably just haven’t hit the mark fully in a lot of the other games we’ve played,” Edwards said. “Obviously, we’ve had disappointing games with the bat, so definitely something we’ll be looking to rectify moving forward into the campaign,” he admitted. Asked about their biggest takeaway, he said: “Yeah, I think that’ll come down to a little bit of what the ICC fixturing looks like. Yeah, I suppose for us, we haven’t looked too far into the future. “I think we’re pretty much playing in the present and making sure we come and achieve what we want to achieve here. And yeah, moving forward, hopefully bigger and better things for us,” he said.