Interview Stephan Myburgh: 'It's amazing to play cricket in India and I really hope I can be there again in the near future'

South-African born Netherlands cricketer Stephan Myburgh is well known for his hard hitting skills. The lefthander made his debut in international cricket for Netherlands in 2011.

Myburgh made an impression in the 2014 World T20 where he was the third highest run-scorer in the tournament after Virat Kohli and his fellow Dutch batsman Tom Cooper by scoring 224 runs in 7 T20I matches. He scored 3 fifties in the tournament with an average of 32.00 and an amazing strike rate of 154.48. Myburgh was the highest boundary hitter in that tournament, with 26 fours and 13 sixes.

In the qualifying round against Ireland, he equaled the record of 2nd fastest fifty in T20Is and was adjudged the Man of the Match for that game as Netherlands won it by 6 wickets chasing down the 192-run target inside 14 overs to make into Super 10s. Later he scored 51 against South Africa in the game where they nearly defeated the heavyweights.

Following the recently concluded World T20, Myburgh in an exclusive interview with Sampath Bandarupalli of CricTracker talks about his cricketing journey and challenges he came across as a player.

Excerpts from the interview:

How did cricket start for you? From being raised in South Africa, you went on to represent Netherlands. How challenging was the journey?

I feel extremely blessed to be raised in a cricket country like South Africa. I played first-class cricket in SA and had the opportunity to be an overseas pro at one of the Dutch clubs in 2006 and I kept coming back to the Netherlands and after a few years the coach at the time Peter Drinnen asked me if I would be interested in representing Netherlands and of course any cricketer in the world wants to play at the top so I accepted the challenge.

Your elder brother Johann has represented various teams across the world playing in different conditions. Did his experience help you improve your game?

My brother is definitely my role model and best cricketer I’ve ever played against and with. Unfortunately his 19 years of first-class cricket career has been hampered by injuries otherwise he would have played many Tests and ODIs. I can honestly say I have had a few very good coaches in my life but my brother and father have played by far played the biggest role in my cricket.

Were you guys disappointed with the show in the recently concluded World T20? Talk about your performances. You gave the starts in both the games which you played but things didn’t quite shape up that well.

Yea, we were extremely disappointed with our performance against Bangladesh because we dominated for 80% of the game. They are a great team beating Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the Asian Cup and losing to India in the final shows that we are good enough to compete with the Test nations.

Did you catch up with the later stages of this World T20? What do you think about India’s batting star Virat Kohli and the men of finals Marlon Samuels and Carlos Brathwaite?

I did follow the World Cup till the end and it was great to watch. Virat is an extremely good player and without a doubt one of the best in the world and I really enjoy watching him play. As for Samuels, well cometh the hour cometh the man as they say. He also did it in the 2012 World T20 final that they won and to do that in those games needs mental toughness. Massive credit to Samuels and Brathwaite, it was awesome to watch them play like they did.

How was the experience coming to India; a cricket crazy nation? Tell us about the reception and the treatment you guys got in India?

It’s amazing to play cricket in India and I really hope I can be there again in the near future. The treatment we received while being there was amazing!

Not sure whether you are aware of records, but the joint 2nd fastest fifty and also the joint slowest fifty in Twenty20 Internationals are registered on your name. How difficult is it to adjust yourself to the game and play accordingly along with changing the gears?

Have to be honest I didn’t even know about that records. My role in the Netherlands team is always to try and get us off to a flying start so I will always try and bat as quick as possible but sometimes the bowlers are really on top and sometimes the pitch doesn’t allow you to go quick from the start so you just need to find a way that will be best for the team. So to adjust is extremely important.

The first time I witnessed your game was way back in 2010/11 in the Hong Kong Super Sixes competition. I was impressed with your striking ability. Do you remember those moments when you defeated England in that competition? How was that experience?

Wow that’s a few years ago but one of the best trips ever. Have to say it’s not really cricket playing 5 over games but was lots of fun. Would love to go back to Hong Kong.

Your next major assignment will be facing Afghanistan in the Intercontinental Cup. How excited at the prospect of facing the team that defeated West Indies just before they became World T20 champions?

Afghanistan has proven many people that they are truly a force to recon. I believe they have the strongest bowling attack in associate cricket so playing against them will be a great challenge and that’s why we play this game. I love a good challenge and hopefully it will be a good match.

Netherlands’ campaign at the I-Cup started off with a loss against Papua New Guinea. How did the team regroup after that shocking loss?

Yes unfortunately we lost to PNG in the first game and it took them to score a record 4th innings score to beat us so need to give them lots of credit. We have trained extremely hard the last 2 years and in the past Netherlands never focused on the 4-day games but only on the one day games. But now we have decided to concentrate on 4-day cricket so have worked hard on our 4-day skills and I think we will only get better and better.

In my opinion, the Intercontinental Cup is a very good prospect for the associate nations to showcase themselves and try and get a chance to win the Test status. Surely every player dreams of playing the traditional format of the game. What are your thoughts about it?

Without a doubt it is every cricketer’s dream to play Test cricket and the Intercontinental Cup is a very good learning curve. So again massive credit to the ICC for the opportunity. I do believe that there could be at least 2 more Test teams so I think the ICC should do something similar to the County cricket with division 1 & 2 and the promotion and relegations. It will give the associates opportunity to show their cricket abilities.

As an associate team player, what changes would you think the ICC should make to improve things for the associates?

I think it’s been said by so many of the associate players but we really need more games and exposure. Afghanistan beat West Indies and WI became the T20 champs and Afghanistan ended 4th at the T20 qualifiers it shows that the gap is not that big anymore. The ICC keeps saying that they want the strongest teams for better games but I don’t think that’s the true reason. The associates has proven that they belong among the Test teams and if we get the exposure and the opportunities the Test nations get, we will be even stronger and more competitive. Especially when it comes down to World Cups, if you look at big sports like football and rugby, they really have a lot of teams and wants to make it even bigger. It is a World Cup and so it should be. The ICC Champions trophy is a place where they can use only the top 10 strongest teams if they want but for me World Cup means that the WORLD should be playing and not just a few countries.