After a tough game against Washington Freedom on Tuesday (July 17) where they beat MI New York by 94 runs, MINY Head Coach Robbie Peterson, stepped out to speak to the media in the post-match press conference. Excerpts..

On the technical issues faced by batters

The pitch did get a bit quicker, but if anything it helps score a bit quicker in the second half of the game. The technical work is something they probably need to go back and look at. That’s all a part of this tournament, with the local players developing and getting better. It’s not easy to fix overnight. 

On the local USA batters and the challenges faced  

We are trying to find solutions. Last season we had a couple of local players who put their hands up at the top of the order. It hasn’t quite been the case this time. It is difficult when you are three or four down in the powerplay to compete, no matter what the total you are chasing. We are giving these guys all the backing and the opportunity. It is for these guys to realize that the opportunity is theirs to grab with both hands. It is a team game, we win together, we lose together. Most importantly we have to stick together. We have two games left. We have been in this position before, to come from behind to qualify. We have to be confident. But it is going to take some soul-searching and some character now to get us over the line in the next matches. 

On MI New York sticking with local players as openers  

We’ll have to go back and rejig and look at things. We don’t have too many opening batting options in the group in terms of international players. We have been the one franchise that has done that (backing local players as openers), and we would like to stick with that. We believe in our local players That is what this competition is all about. It is about winning, but also about helping those players develop and become better so that USA cricket can flourish. Unfortunately we aren’t getting over the line at the moment, but I’d like to believe the local players will be richer for experience going forward. 

On possible changes in the coming games

Everybody is a possible option at this stage. We have to sit down and look where we have to go. We tried to extend the batting lineup in this game, didn’t quite work out. In the last game we saw a local player we had backed not quite get runs. It’s all about character now. It is about personal responsibility. The team is in need to raise your level of performance. Other teams have gotten better this season. We decided to show faith in people and we are going to continue that for the next two games.