“It’s our first T20 win against test-playing nation”: Canada player Aaron Johnson on victory over Ireland

New York [US], June 11 : Ahead of their fixture against Pakistan, Canada all-rounder Aaron Johnson said the win against Ireland in the previous encounter of the ongoing marquee event was big as this was their first against any test-playing nation.

Canada and Pakistan will lock horns against Pakistan in an all-important clash of Group A at the Nassau International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

“It’s a very big win for us. It’s a historic win. It’s our first T20 win against a test-playing nation, and this just shows that Canada has a lot to offer to the world of cricket. I’m pretty sure this will drive a lot of investment in Canadian cricket to show that we are here to compete. We are not just here to be a part of the tournament. And moving forward, we got ODI status earlier, and we qualified to play here in the World Cup, so I think it’s massive, and for us as a group, it drives a sense of belief within the group. So, I think we have to just take it in stride and keep moving forward,” Johnson said in the pre-match press conference.

The off-spinner further stated that they played positive cricket.

“Our fielding was very good, a total team effort. I think we played positive cricket and we managed to get the highest score so far here in New York. We even got a very decent total in, I think, the second highest total. So, we are looking to bat positively and just back it up in the field,” the right-hand batter said.

“They are very skilled players. Most of these guys have been going around the world playing league cricket, not only international cricket, so their skills are there. But if you’re looking for opportunity, you have to relish these moments. So, I believe the fact that the wicket is playing some tricks, it levels the playing field for us, and we’re looking to use that to our advantage,” the 33-year-old added.

Canada: Saad Bin Zafar (c), Aaron Johnson, Ravinderpal Singh, Navneet Dhaliwal, Kaleem Sana, Dilon Heyliger, Jeremy Gordon, Nikhil Dutta, Pargat Singh, Nicholas Kirton, Rayyankhan Pathan, Junaid Siddiqui, Dilpreet Bajwa, Shreyas Movva, Rishiv Joshi.

pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan

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