"I don't think it's a great selling product": Heinrich Klaasen remarks on New York's track

Heinrich Klaasen (Pic: File Pic)

If the International Cricket Council wants to promote T20 cricket in the Americas, the Nassau County Cricket Ground is not a "great selling point", feels South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen.

The new drop-in pitch at the ground located in the Long Islands has been dual-paced with uneven bounce, making batting very difficult. The two cricketing giants India and South Africa are the two teams to successfully defend the totals of 119 and 113, respectively on the New York track.

"Obviously, if you have to showcase it to the world and sell it, I don't think it's a great selling product, but for cricket, it's tight competition. It brings the other teams and the higher teams very close to each other," Heinrich Klaasen, who scored 46 off 44 balls in the team's four-run win said at the post-match press conference.

The Proteas' batsman said the star batsmen from all teams would just like to get out of New York and the bowlers would love to stay forever. The International Cricket Council has acknowledged the pitches and has not played as it was desired.

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"I think all the batters are keen to get out of this place, to be fair. The bowlers would love to stay here but - no we've done our job that was the goal to win three out of three here. Obviously, it was a little bit harder than what we thought," he said.

"For us, it's very nerve-wracking, because every game becomes a really big game. There's no easy games for us especially in our group. So, it's still good entertaining cricket. Everyone is on the edge of their seats and any team can beat any team on the down this on this field."

Klaasen was a part of the inaugural edition of Major League Cricket last year and when asked if he has enjoyed this ICC project of trying to market cricket in a new city with a temporary stadium, his answer was a mixed one. "Yes and No," he said before elaborately explaining his take.

"I played in Dallas and in North Carolina where I think there's a little bit more cricket there. The wickets (pitches) are better so it's easier to sell cricket in that aspect," he said.

"It's fantastic what they've done with the stadium here and I think as the wicket matures, but obviously I think they're taking it out in two - three days' time so that doesn't help," Klaasen explained.

"The more the wicket matures, the better these conditions will get and I think it will be a better showcase for the people. This wicket is I think, four months old, so there's a lot of maturity that needs to go into the wicket that will produce bigger scores."

In the concluded IPL 2024, Heinrich Klaasen was an integral part of Sunrisers Hyderabad's batting lineup and the inclusion of the "Impact Player" rule have seen him smashing sixes all around the ground. Following his performances in the IPL, the batter said that one month is ancient history now.

"Yeah, it's a big change you see scores there - well it was a month and a half ago we were part of a score that's 270 - 260 so it's well off, but it's part of the game.

"It doesn't look like the Caribbean wickets are too much better. So, we have to play smart cricket and use our cricket brain a little bit more."

He feels that once the Super Eight starts in the T20 World Cup 2024, the scored will be near to 160 plus. "Out of us all, the thing on stats that are out of 18 games, it's only been one score above 200. So normally in the Caribbean, it's about 160 as par. If you get to 160-170, you're in a good shot and you have to bowl well.

"So, I reckon that's normally the good scores there, or power scores. Depending where you play, the wickets are very different around the Caribbean."

(With PTI Inputs)