USA coach Stuart Law has added that the team was warned about being slow between overs during earlier matches in the ongoing 2024 T20 World Cup. He also added that players were given two clear warnings in the game against India before the five-run penalty was imposed as well. However, before the start of the 16th over in India’s chase against the USA, the onfield umpire had a chat with USA skipper Aaron Jones. After the USA’s seven-wicket loss to India, coach Law shared his thoughts on the five-run penalty as well.
“Yeah, we talk about this. We had a few warnings in earlier games, and it’s something we do talk about to get through faster between the overs. It’s just one thing that we can improve on. I think that we’re only a fledgling team. There’s plenty to learn. There’s not just the cricket aspect of the game of cricket, but there’s also the other intricacies that need to be embedded [among the players]. It’s a rule that’s only just come in. A lot of our players wouldn’t have heard about it before we played in the Bangladesh series or the Canada series earlier this year. So, look, it’s something that we need to address, we’ll sit down and talk about, but we can improve it, yeah,” Law added.
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However, the former Aussie batter also added that the USA players were given two warnings before the penalty was imposed. Defending a target of 111, the USA reduced India to 39-3 as well. Suryakumar Yadav (50* off 49) and Shivam Dube (31* off 35) guided India to a comfortable win.
“Players know the rule, but it’s something that if you haven’t played with it for a long time, it’s very difficult to have it embedded in your brain. So, the information coming from the umpires was, they were given two clear warnings, then it’s up to the players to respond. And we didn’t respond fast enough, we didn’t do it well enough, and that’s something we can address. I don’t think it affected the outcome of the game. Five runs wasn’t going to affect the outcome of the game so I don’t think it rattled [the players]. No, I thought we stuck to our guns, we fought hard, we fought to the death. I thought we showed some fantastic character against one of the best teams in the world,” he concluded.
