Nortje: Don't need 20 sixes to make an entertaining game
Written by I Dig Sports"I thought the game was great," Nortje said when asked if this pitch was a fair reflection of the entertainment cricket sought to provide when it came to US. "I thought the entertainment was there. I thought the people were there. It was a brilliant spectacle. It was brilliant to see everyone, to hear the voices, the noise, the cheering. I thought it was a great day for cricket.
"It doesn't always mean, correct me if I'm wrong, there needs to be 20 sixes in a game to make it entertaining. There's still a lot of strategy that goes into the game. There's a lot of skill that goes into the game, whether it's sixes or fast bowlers or spinners, however it might be. So, I thought the game was a brilliant game. It was still a close game at the end of the day, another wicket or two, and things might have been different. We might have been in a little bit more trouble.
"It is great to be in New York. It's great to be playing cricket in the US andwe're excited for what's to come. We've enjoyed the facilities; we've enjoyed the sort of getting around exploring as well. So, yeah, it's brilliant and we are enjoying it."
"We didn't know it [the pitches] is all from the same [time]," Nortje said. "We sort of assumed that they're coming from the same, let me call it, factory. But yes, it was a little bit up and down in the nets as well. We need to train as well as the batters also need to train. It's not always nice to go out and face balls jumping up, I think you adapt to it on the day and rather work on what you want to in the nets. And that's why I think one or two of the guys eventually walked out, but they were still batting facing us. Also you don't want to get hit. And a day before the game, you want to sort of go through your routines as a batter and they were fresh and spicy as well."
"I don't think there's anything wrong with the wickets," he said. "It's [allowed to be] nice for bowlers as well. We are also allowed to get some sort of assistance. It's different to what guys have been used to for the last few months or years. There's a little bit more in the wicket for the bowlers and I don't see anything wrong with that.
"When it's flat, people want to see sixesso the wheels should turn a little bit somewhere. I don't know what to expect in the next few weeks. It might get a little bit flatter. It might get a little bit slower, faster. Who knows? I'm not the expert on it, but I think our biggest thing is just to sort of adapt to whatever gets thrown in front of us in the next game again. See in the first over what to expect and try and adjust as best as possible."
However, Klaasen was just as happy with the atmosphere as Nortje was. "I said to the coach the DJ was on point, there was no interruptions from his side and the crowd was fantastic," he said. "You can see the people are excited for the competition."