Glenn Phillips and Roelof Van Der pre-match press conference, New Zealand vs Netherlands, 6th Match, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023

New Zealand player Glenn Phillips and Netherlands player Roelof Van Der Merwe pre-match press conference, New Zealand vs Netherlands, 6th Match, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.

New Zealand player Glenn Phillips

Netherlands player Roelof Van Der Merwe

New Zealand player Glenn Phillips pre-match press conference transcript

Reporter: How is the mood in the camp, particularly after the first match where you had some fantastic wins?

Glenn Phillips: Yeah, the mood is very neutral. Obviously, we enjoyed the first win incredibly much, but obviously with the tournament being such a quick turnaround, we try to keep things as neutral as possible, not get too high when we win and not get too low when we lose. And I think that's the key for us throughout this competition.

Reporter: Hi Glenn, first of all, just wanted to know whether Kane is going to play in this match?

Glenn Phillips: No, we’ve released a bit of an extract, an update that Kane will be still recovering with the hopes of him playing in the third match, but we'll see how his recovery goes. He's going really strong at the moment.

Reporter: Hi. Hi, Glenn. I just wanted to ask you, after that England win, how are you looking at this Netherlands game? It could be potentially a bananas kind of a thing because the way Netherlands fought against Pakistan, so how are you looking to work for this game?

Glenn Phillips: We approach every game the same way every time, every team is strong in their own right, especially on the given day. The Netherlands have a lot of strong players, and we're going to have to still put our best foot forward, as I'm sure they will. So, keep coming up with our plans, doing our scouting, making sure that we have everything set in place, and not taking any team lightly.

Reporter: How do you look at the opening partnership in the last match, Conway, and Ravindra? How was it? How you felt it in the team?

Glenn Phillips: Yeah, they were absolutely brilliant. Obviously 270-odd run partnership is phenomenal, especially for two guys in their first World Cup. I guess from a team perspective it's really nice to know that those two boys are in some serious form and obviously everyone in the warm-up games obviously had a nice little head out and yeah, it's a good feeling in the camp at the moment.

Reporter: Was it a pleasant surprise with the way Rachin was batting.

Glenn Phillips: Oh, no. I wasn't surprised at all. Obviously, I've played a lot of cricket with him back home and he actually plays a very aggressive brand of one-day cricket. Being up the top of the order. He likes to play with a lot of flair. He plays that square drive incredibly well, which with the new ball is an absolute asset. And then the way he combined with Dev as well, the tempo they both set, they struck at 120, 130 without even almost lifting a finger. It was phenomenal to watch.

Reporter: Can you talk about something about your bowling because during the first match you've picked up a couple of crickets. And how are you working on your bowling?

Glenn Phillips: Yeah, obviously my bowling has been coming along for quite a while now. And to be able to get the opportunities on the big stage is a moment that I've been relishing for a long time. It's really nice to have the backing of the coaching staff and obviously the captain as well regardless of whether it's Kane or Tom, to be able to go out there and then look at me and go. Okay, we can use them for this specific role and if that sort of opportunity comes up throwing me the ball and saying hey, you know we're all a team in this together and we need you to do this role for us at the moment. And to be able to go out there and execute that role is really enjoyable.

Reporter: How do you look at the Netherlands as a team?

Glenn Phillips: I think they're a really good team. Obviously, they've beaten quite a few good opponents to be able to qualify for the tournament in the first place. So, they're a team definitely not to be taken lightly. They have a lot of high professional cricketers that play all through county cricket as well. So, they've definitely got a good skill set. They know their roles. They bond together well as a team. And I definitely think they're going to be a tough team to beat in this competition.

Reporter: Now, New Zealand is a threat to most of the teams after this, they say, because you have been always doing good in ICC tournaments. So how do you prepare for this tournament in India? Because one day tournament, you have not won till now.

Glenn Phillips: Yeah, obviously, when 90% of the teams are away teams, It almost levels the playing field quite nicely India have the home advantage and they play incredibly strong cricket at home. But with the other subcontinent teams Pakistan, Sri Lanka Bangladesh, that's still a semi foreign condition to them so for us to be able to go out there and we try to adapt as quickly as possible on the day and I think that's what we pride ourselves on understanding that you get one shot at each team and It comes down to who can adjust to the conditions on the day seen as that most of us are all actually very foreign to these conditions, barring probably guys who have had a lot of success in the IPL over the years.

Reporter: Did you have a look at the pitch?

Glenn Phillips: Yeah. Over in Hyderabad, it's always a good pitch out here. The groundsman does an incredible job. He's got a great support staff. And obviously, there's been quite a lot of high scoring games here over the years. So hopefully, it'll present another entertaining game.

Reporter: So, given that there are so many players from New Zealand now playing in IPL, what kind of inputs that you get about the conditions? Kane played here for a lot of times. How many people re playing in IPL?

Glenn Phillips: Yeah, obviously, we've got guys who have played in various IPL teams I myself and Kane playing here obviously brings a little bit of an advantage to giving information to the boys. We try to take all the information and put it together and as I said, come on the day and adapt to the conditions as fast as possible. Obviously, a pitch can play differently one day than it will for another. So, for us to be able to collate that information, understand what we have in our bank, and stick to our strengths and skills on that particular pitch will be very important.

Reporter: Last time, Santner didn't allow a single boundary. How do you look to that?

Glenn Phillips: Yeah, Santner’s been unbelievable for an incredibly long time. His skill set to be able to bowl quick and slow from pretty much the exact same action. He has an intuition about batters coming at him. So, he seems to have a knack for picking up wickets, but if he's not picking up wickets, he tends to go for no runs as well.

So having a frontline spinner like him, who offers an incredible amount with the bat as well, just brings a nice depth to our side. And then obviously you've got Rachin, myself, and Ish also there, who do different roles and play key parts in different areas of the game. So, Santner's been a real key part of our bowling lineup. The captain can always rely on him to come in and do a job, whether it's at the death or whether it's in the power play. And then obviously, he's just phenomenal through the middle.

Reporter: Who are the players who are likely to make an impact in this World Cup?

Glenn Phillips: For us. Obviously, Santner will be a key one, as well as Trent Bolt up the front with the new ball. But I think we've never really been a team that has one person doing all the work or necessarily making an impact throughout the whole competition. So, with us, we've got a real team first mentality and it comes down to what the team needs at that point in time. And everyone is going to give their all at any point in time.

So, where the guys are called upon to do different roles and to be able to execute those roles is going to be really important for us, but we've got a lot of match winners on our side, but with that being said, we try to collate and work together more as a team as opposed to individuals.

Reporter: You are touring India right now, like, today, India match is happening. In India, players, whom do you feel like are most competitive or else, like, a bit competitive for you? I mean, players, according for their batting style. Who will perform better against you from the Indian side? From the Indian side.

Glenn Phillips: Who are the good players in India? They've got players coming out of their ears. Obviously, Virat Kohli is an incredible key to India's side, and how every team combats what he's going to throw at us or throw at them will change depending on different grounds and different places, but then you've got guys like Rohit Sharma, Jasmit Bumrah, guys who have just performed on the world stage for years.

Everybody's going to be looking at them and going, how can we restrict them, but also be able to fire punches back at them? And I guess to be able to put them under a lot of pressure.

Obviously, they've got the home advantage, which does come with a lot of pressure as well. So, with their side, they've got a lot of experience, a lot of young talent as well.

Shubman Gill coming through, he's been absolutely phenomenal. So, I think there's a lot to watch out for.

Netherlands player Roelof Van Der Merwe pre-match press conference transcript

Reporter: Pakistan game was something that you wanted to win; you came pretty close. Up next is New Zealand, could you talk us through how the preparations are and what are you expecting from your team, especially the batting with Bas De Leede giving that wonderful half century along with Vikram. But the rest of the batting has kind of fizzled out when it mattered. So has there been any focus on your batting and your preparations for tomorrow's game?

Roelof Van Der Merwe: Yeah, look, obviously it's disappointing to lose the game to Pakistan. You know, Bas and Vicky played very well. We have reviewed the game and we understand where we need to improve and all those things have been talked about and we know we need to do it for longer and yeah, all those things have been being discussed.

Reporter: So, what were the learnings for you from the Pakistan game? Because there was a time where you had Pakistan under the pump. And even in the chase, you guys started off well against the pacers. But then the spinners came on, there was a bit of dip in the runway. Learnings on the game and plus this aspect, what is the thought process?

Roelof Van Der Merwe: We had Pakistan under a bit of pressure there. Everybody knows that. Obviously, the learnings from that is we've got to do it for longer and that's been discussed and if you compare to T20 cricket, it's 30 overs longer. So, it speaks for itself we need to do it for longer and yeah put them under pressure for longer

Reporter: Yesterday Dale Styen was just joking about how he was teammates with you more than 10 years ago and how he was very effusive in his praise for your fitness and work ethic and commitment. Just tell us about how you manage to keep going, you play in different leagues in the world. Just tell us about the secret to your longevity and this hunger to kind of keep reinventing yourself and keep playing the way you do.

Roelof Van Der Merwe: Yeah, I think for me obviously competing, I love competing, so I think that helps me stay fit, stay hungry for the game. I just love playing the game and competing against other teams and other players.

Reporter: How do you look to tomorrow's match, given that the two openers have done very well against England. So, any particular plans or anything how you're looking to it?

Roelof Van Der Merwe: Look I think every team has plans to batters and tomorrow's how well we can execute those plans to put them under pressure and I mean those two guys played a great partnership in the previous game but you know we've got our plans to get them out and as we said earlier put pressure on them. They are very organized skilful team so we know what we're up against a quality team but if we play the way we play and execute how we want to - we can put them under pressure and win the game.

Reporter: Among the positives in this last match was Bas, all round show and off spinner that’s bowling. So how was that for you as a team?

Roelof Van Der Merwe: Yeah, massive. I think, those two guys, the way they performed alongside Vicky, it's encouraging, it just shows that we do have very skilful players and talented players in our team. And it's not every game relying on one player to turn it around for us, but yeah, it's always encouraging seeing those guys do well.

Reporter: During the World Cup qualifiers, you were nursing a finger injury playing for Somerset. Can you talk us through how did you follow the team in Zimbabwe and that Scotland game in particular?

Roelof Van Der Merwe: Yeah, I mean, yes. The cricket the guys played in Zimbabwe was exceptional. They stood up against Test playing nations and showed we deserve to be on the stage. So, it was great to see the guys perform and as I said previously that everybody played a part it wasn't just certain individuals.

Reporter: And from a bowling perspective, you bowled a lot more in India. What do you do differently?

Roelof Van Der Merwe: Yeah, look conditions change wherever you go It's just getting all of the information taken on board and you got to assess not only the conditions but the opposition you play against and work everything around that.

Reporter: Any new tricks up your sleeve?

Roelof Van Der Merwe: No new tricks. Old dog, no new tricks.

Reporter: Is Logan giving you guys a bit of intel on some of the Kiwi players, considering he plays with them at the Wellington Firebirds?

Roelof Van Der Merwe: Yeah, I think these days, the cricket environment is where you play with so many guys across the whole year, so everybody's got info about the players and it's handy that they've been in contact with the players more often than not. So always handy information.

Reporter: Talk us through the entire spin department. We saw everyone bowling in tandem and sometimes we saw the strategies were almost working to the mark. So, what, as a senior most player in the team and one of the best spinners, so what are your inputs to them?

Roelof Van Der Merwe: Yeah, look, I think you look at matchups, you look at where guys are uncomfortable, where the ball's turning away when you're turning back. I think all teams are aware of what players' weaknesses are and strengths are and, players also know what they're strong at and not. And you've just got to weigh those things up and, on the day, execute as best you can to upset that. So, all the information is there, it's just about execution.

Reporter: Have you had a look at the surface and obviously the first two warm-ups, like score of excess of 300, but during the first game that you played the ball kind of stopped. What do you make of the surface that is here?

Roelof Van Der Merwe: Yeah, I think it's a good surface. There was something for the bat and ball. If you played well on there you could score runs. We do have a bit more intel. We've played on the surface, obviously not the same wicket, but we've got a bit of info on it. And it's a good cricket wicket. Boundaries are pretty even, and there is a bit of turn. There's a bit of movement for the seamer. So, if you play good cricket, you can reap the rewards.

Reporter: What sort of impression do you have of Aryan Dutt and Shariz Ahmad, and what sort of knowledge transfer has taken place with them?

Roelof Van Der Merwe: Yeah, look, they are very talented young bowlers. I've worked a bit more with Shariz over the last few years, but they're both unique in what they do and you know, very talented. So, no, it's definitely something for the future and I mean, I can just help wherever I can and give information and advice.

Reporter: Word on Vikram, how good he batted the other day?

Roelof Van Der Merwe: Yeah, look, Vicky is also another exceptional talent, also still very young, so he's still got to build up a lot of experience, but the signs he has shown, it's very encouraging for Dutch cricket, he plays with a certain amount of flair and It's yeah, it's lovely to watch and I think he's one for the future.

Reporter: And finally, how excited are you to play in this World Cup? It's been a long journey of yours. We have all read great stories about you. Emotionally, how connected are you? And as a professional, how prepared are you?

Roelof Van Der Merwe: Look, whatever team I play for, I want to win. So, it doesn't change whether I'm playing in a World Cup or in a local competition. I want to win games of cricket and I'll apply myself the best I can, whether it's on the field, giving advice, off the field training, I'm always well prepared and I just want to win games and nothing changes playing for the Dutch.

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