Ross Taylor says Closed-door cricket ‘felt like warm-up game’
Ross Taylor has revealed the behind closed doors matches felt more like a warm-up game, he says “To me, it felt like a warm-up game, didn’t feel like a true international match”. On Thursday (April 30), veteran Ross Taylor named Men’s T20 international player of the year by New Zealand Cricket’s (NZC).
Ross Taylor says
It was quite strange leading into the game. There were lots of whispers about the game being canceled and everything happened very quickly. In the context of the match, turning up the preparation felt a bit strange. To me it felt like a warm-up game, did not feel like a true international match but I guess once you get into it it is no different to if you are playing a competitive game of backyard cricket or a club game, you give it your all. But I’m not going to lie, it did feel very strange. At the same time, there could be a few games like that so I’m sure as players we will have to adjust to that and get used to it. The cricket can definitely be played at a high level. The guys were all professional in how they went about their business. It is odd, though, and creating your own atmosphere. I don’t think you can ever quite create what a full house might do when there’s simply no one there and all you hear is the Crack off a cricket bat. You have to adapt and that may well be something players will have to get their head around to allow them to be back on the park. When something is taken away from you, you are often more than happy to compromise to get back to some sort of normality and do what you love doing and that’s play cricket.
Suzie Bates says:
That would be a huge disappointment especially with how far the women’s game has come. I think if you had asked me five years ago I had have said it would not have been too much different. Growing up, most of my cricket felt like it was played behind closed doors but nowadays with the attention we are getting and being at home it would be a huge shame if it had to be played like that. I had personally rather wait until we can do it as normal when this has all cleared up, teams are able to travel and we are allowed crowds in the ground. I feel like New Zealand Cricket is now in a position where they realize how important this World Cup is to cricket in New Zealand, not just women’s cricket but cricket in general, and I feel like they are really excited about the opportunity to see how many people they can get into grounds around the country. Obviously, it is on Television but it’s about the atmosphere they can create so I think they will be doing everything they can to make sure they can host it as normal. If there have to be changes made I have faith they’ll do their best to have it with crowds.
