An understandably miffed MI Cape Town Head Coach, Robin Peterson was at the post-match press conference tonight. He wasn’t too pleased with the side having to bowl with a wet ball and on an outfield that was soaking after the rain break. Here are excerpts from his chat..

On the umpires resuming play despite a wet outfield

We obviously want the fans to get what they want, but when we play a game of cricket, you want a fair contest. That’s what we all want. Was it one tonight? I’m not sure. That’s for other people to decide. Obviously our boys tried hard. It was a wet ball for four out of their eight overs at the back end in the rain. It is a hard one to take. You feel hard done by. But you don’t get everything in life. We will gather and hope to win our next two. We tried to keep everybody happy, despite feeling that we weren’t looked after a little bit, this game. 

The chances of qualification after this loss?

We can still qualify, so we are still positive. Two games where we have to win, two venues where I would think, our bowlers’ points have come from – Centurion and Newlands. Everybody can beat everybody. We are still alive and that is what makes this tournament so great. The boys tried their best. Sometimes your duty of care has to be that there should be a contest. That’s for the umpires to decide. If they can sleep tonight, it’s fine. At the end of the day, we tried our best as a team, and that is all I can ask of the boys. 

On Pollard’s influence in the dressing room

We are talking about one of the all time greats in our dressing room. He gives it his all. For him to step out there and walk out when it wasn’t his batting position, shows a lot of leadership. That is what he has brought, a lot of calm, cricket savvy, and plays with his heart. That’s all we can ask for. Outstanding leader, you can’t fault his commitment to this team. He has tried everything and will continue to try everything till the last ball is bowled. We are just privileged and happy that he is a part of this dressing room. A lot of the local guys are learning from him, not just from a cricket perspective, but how to be a professional. If you want to succeed, he’s the guy to talk to, and he has been great in the dressing room. 

On the learnings from this game

There is nothing you can take from a game like that. To analyse, we just lost the toss. The rain came and unfortunately, the game got shortened. That’s why Duckworth Lewis in t20 cricket doesn’t seem fair. It should be relooked at. It could be like, you score 97, but you have only four wickets in hand. We know T20 cricket is about swinging freely. They got the luck tonight, and maybe we could be on the right side in the next two games. There has to be a duty to get a fair contest for the fans, not just get a game of cricket. 

Thoughts on the preparations for the next game

The preparations are all done behind the scenes. The guys are focused on one game at a time. Every game dishes out new challenges from a mental and data perspective, and we just have to be prepared. I don’t think we learnt anything from this game of cricket. One team took the points home, that’s all about it. We’ll just focus on the next game, we still have a chance. All you want is a chance in these types of tournaments. 

On the mood in the changing room

To be honest, the changing room energy has been good. The guys enjoy each others’ company, which is remarkable from where we sit. We would have liked a couple of more wins, but that is T20 cricket. We still have a chance. It’s probably the two venues, where if we want to win with a bonus point, these are the two venues. I’ve been in dressing rooms where we’ve been in better situations, but it hasn’t been that great. We have been in a tough situation, but the boys have been in good spirits. That’s all you can ask for, to believe.