T20 World Cup 2024 | "There are heaps of learnings": Corey Anderson after WC exit

Corey Anderson (Pic: File Pic)

The fairytale run of the USA's cricket team in the T20 World Cup 2024 was ended by England, but Corey Anderson said that his team is signing off the tournament with their heads held high and heaps of learning.

The USA were knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2024 after facing defeat against West Indies, England and South Africa. This was after having a great run in the group-stage matches.

"I mean sky's the limit really...the last few years there's always been whispers around what's happening in America with cricket...hopefully in years to come as well, we can kind of grow that," said Anderson after the Super 8 match loss against England.

"I mean there's probably a lot of areas that we need to improve on. We are still an Associate nation, growing, trying to get a bigger player pool. Making it through the Super 8s was obviously a historic occasion for the USA," he added.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2024: Will the "Blues" be able to wash out past "Yellow" memories?

Asked to explain the USA's loss of momentum after a galvanising league run, Anderson said it was a case of 'Big Boys' raising their level when it mattered against a mostly novice team.

"The last couple of games have just been not quite there, but that's what happens in the Super 8 competition is the bigger boys start to really show up and they're kind of hitting their stride right at the back end of this competition," he said.

"We don't get to play against these big teams often or at all. So, anything that we can play against these guys is hugely valuable. It's probably a little bit raw at the moment obviously, but yeah there's heaps of learnings out of that," he added.

Corey Anderson is one of the most talented players in the USA team. The team is made up of players from West Indian, Indian and Pakistan origin. One of their top performers in the T20 World Cup 2024 was Saurah Netravalkar who also works as a full-time software engineer with Oracle.

Anderson said there is understandable disappointment in the camp right now but there is also a feeling of accomplishment.

"...they're disappointed. They're hurt. I'm hurt. Your pride's always on the line when you're playing these games and you never want to lose badly or have performances like that," he said referring to the 10-wicket loss to England here.

"But again, it's looking at the bigger picture of it too. If we're a team and we first started and we're beginning to be disappointed about how we play against these big teams and knowing that we can do better, that's a great sign because it means we can give more," he explained.

Corey Anderson did not display any extraordinary knock in the 20 World Cup 2024. Acknowledging that he said it hurt the team as he was among the most experienced in their line-up.

"My performance has been lacklustre for what I expected myself. I think as a team we did a fantastic job to get to where we were and we had different guys stepping up at different times.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't chime in and help when we probably, the wheels were falling off a little bit. I needed to play better than what I did and there was probably opportunities that I missed out on," he said.

(With PTI Inputs)