Everything comes quick and fast in the MLC. So pretty quickly after a heartbreaking loss, Tim David was at the post-match press-conference, where he spoke about the game, his innings, the conditions, and the impact rubbing shoulders with some of the best players in the business is set to have on USA cricket. Excerpts .. 

Thoughts at the half time?

We had a really good start. We had them at 4/50 just after the powerplay and we gave them the opportunity to build the partnership. We saw it throughout the game that it was hard against the new ball but once you got a partnership and the ball got softer, it got easier. Above par. But fair play to their batters. Shadab and Corey played a good innings. 

On the batting conditions and conversations with Pollard

We thought we could get it right until Pollard got out. It is tough for a new batter coming in. There was a good breeze from one end and that was also the longer boundary. It was really tough to score at that end. When you’ve got Haris Rauf bowling, who is one of the best death bowlers going around, it is pretty tough to score off him. We were just trying to get what we could out of that end. It was a tough ask when you’ve got that many runs to score. But Polly and I believed that if two guys could do it, it was me and him. We had conversations out there, but couldn’t get over the line.

Impact of the MLC on USA cricket

Associate cricket is tough. People just look at the World Cup qualifiers. Boys are playing four, five ODIs in a week. It is pretty tough physically. You don’t have the luxury of the better hotels and food available, and the support staff around you. Playing Associate cricket in the early part of my career was a huge learning for me because I knew what I had to do to prepare. I was lucky when I was playing in the Big Bash, I had the opportunity of rubbing shoulders with the experienced international players. If you are willing to learn off those players, like I am sure the local USA players have. Few games in the first game, but they will get pieces of gold from the experienced players. You look at the squads, the who’s who of international and franchise cricket are playing here in this tournament. It is an amazing opportunity for those trying to learn and improve. 

On player fatigue just after the World Cup Qualifiers

As you get to international and professional cricket, you’ve got to be ready to go when the opportunity comes. It is tough. You see a lot of guys coming in from different series, it might be something they aren’t used to. The guys who stand out are the guys who will perform well. These are high quality games. 

On his strategy after walking out to bat

We had to score pretty quickly. It is tough to walk out and hit the ball straightaway. So I gave myself a little bit of a chance to get in. I wanted to give myself a chance in the match-ups. It probably happened a little bit too late for us today. We saw Polly taking it down from one end. You would have seen that most sixes were hit from one end. The strategy was to play good shots and then it became obvious that we just had to go for it. 

On the learnings for the next game

I think the positive at not playing your best is you know where you can improve. Some really good individual performances. Being a short tournament, there are limited opportunities but everyone is ready to put in a winning hand. It is going to be high quality, cutthroat. We’ve only got four left and we need to get cracking on the points board.