North Sound (Antigua), June 19 USA batter Aaron Jones said his side is really excited to play against some of the best teams in the world when they open their Super Eights campaign in the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup against South Africa at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
USA, in their first-ever Men’s T20 World Cup appearance and that too as co-hosts, are having the time of their lives by being second-best side in Group A, where they beat Canada and Pakistan, as well as ran India close to be in Super Eight stage.
"The boys are happy, the boys are excited to play against the best teams in the world. We wanted to do that (come in with energy). We've been speaking about that over the last couple of years. And here we are now. We're just going to enjoy our cricket and, as I said (before matchday one), play fearless cricket all the time," said Jones to reporters.
Further talking about the team's mindset ahead of beginning the Super Eight stage, Jones remarked it won’t be different from what it has been this year, where they registered series wins over Bangladesh and USA in the run-up to the T20 World Cup.
"I think it starts with the belief that we could beat anybody. Even before the World Cup we've had a few series and obviously everybody knows we came out on top against Bangladesh, who are a really good team to be honest.
"We always believed before the World Cup that we could beat bigger teams or better teams and obviously we showed it against Pakistan. It's going to be the same mindset going into the Super Eights now. We want to play hard cricket and if you come out on top it's good, if you don't come out on top then we learn."
Jones also stated that USA’s success in the T20 World Cup will help the sport make further inroads into the American sporting landscape and capturing the attention of fans back home, with some of them expected to be in attendance for their Super Eight games.
"Myself, and Steven (Taylor), we have a lot of support in the Caribbean. So we'll definitely have some support here for sure as it relates to the whole team. I think a few people from USA actually flew to the Caribbean to support us. So, it's really good but that's no face for us. We just want to play hard cricket regardless of the situation.
"We've been speaking about playing in the World Cup and playing more games against the full member nations. And here we are doing it. Qualifying for the Super Eights is a big thing not just for us, but also for the fans and the younger generation in America," he concluded.
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