After his team was eliminated from the competition, USA vice-captain Aaron Jones thought back on his team’s incredible World Cup debut in the T20 World Cup 2024. The United States of America’s incredible run at the pinnacle of international cricket came to an end when they lost to England by a crushing ten wickets in their last Super 8 match.
As co-hosts of the World Cup with the West Indies, the USA qualified for the competition. Beginning their campaign, they chased down their highest-ever target of 195 against Canada, thanks to an innings of joint-record-tying two sixes (10) from Aaron Jones, who was undefeated at 94* (40). In their second match, they defeated Pakistan even more.
Left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar, who had to defend 18 runs against Pakistan in the Super over, shot to stardom overnight. In the match against India, the Mumbai-born seamer also claimed the coveted scalps of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The USA nearly reached their target of 195 runs against South Africa as well, but ultimately lost by 19 runs, despite Andries Ghous scoring an undefeated 80* off 47.
Aaron Jones On USA’s Dream Run
Notably, the USA’s victory over Bangladesh in the tournament’s lead-up turned heads everywhere. In their second group match, the co-hosts of the event defeated Pakistan in the super-over, recording a historic victory. As he considered his team’s incredible tournament run, Aaron Jones was disappointed in themselves for falling short in the final two games.
“Hard game to get to grips to be honest. We did not have a good last two games, something for us to talk about when we go back to USA but that’s how it goes. Looking forward to playing more big teams. Wicket was a bit sticky, Rashid very experienced, very good bowler. Our shot selection was not good, we knew he was the danger man. Something to look into and we definitely will come back harder. [on Buttler] Very experienced and he batted beautifully today,” said Aaron Jones in the post-match presentation.
Speaking ahead, Aaron Jones expressed his excitement at showing their doubters wrong by defeating the elite teams and expressed optimism that things will only get better from here.
“It’s very good for us, this is our first World Cup, lot of people did not think we will be here playing against England, West Indies and the big boys. Hopefully, this will open the eyes of the American public. We’ve got a lot of calls and messages of support during this World Cup. I see us getting bigger and better from here,” he added.
Nevertheless, the co-hosts were eliminated after losing consecutive games against the West Indies and England, failing to maintain their strong play.