They had Pakistan at 38 for 3 in the tenth over. Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan managed to stem that tide but fell within four overs of each other to leave the score at 182 for 5 with almost 20 overs still left to negotiate. Those two instances showed that Netherlands were capable of not just setting a match up but also reversing momentum if it happened to go against them.
“It’s probably one that got away,” Edwards said. “I thought we were in a pretty good position to win. We know they had quality bowlers throughout and they took wickets through the middle there which held us back.”
“I haven’t spoken to him [van Beek],” Edwards said. “I think he was pretty keen to get out there. We’ll assess that and see where he’s at.”
De Leede kept fighting for Netherlands, scoring 67 off 68 balls to go with his 4 for 62 from nine overs, but it wasn’t enough in the end. Pakistan bowled Netherlands out for 205 and won by 81 runs.
“He’s a quality cricketer, isn’t he,” Edwards said of the 23-year-old de Leede, “In all three departments of the game. I thought he bowled exceptionally well today and yeah, his innings today was awesome. I just wish we had someone to go with him.
“It’s a little bit disappointing. I thought our boys bowled and fielded really well. To Pakistan’s credit, they obviously made a few runs at the end there. We felt like that was about a par score. At 2 for 120, we thought we were well and truly in the game.”