NAGPUR: England skipper Andrew Strauss did not agree with Australian captain Ricky Ponting’s view that associate nations should play Twenty20 games only and not the 50-over WC.

Talking to media persons on Monday, Strauss said that he would not jump into conclusions after seeing Sunday’s games where Kenya and Canada lost badly to New Zealand and Sri Lanka respectively. “Let the tournament finish first and then draw conclusions,’’ he said. According to Strauss, Ir*eland and the Netherlands are strong associate nations in their group. “They are surely ca*pable of a couple of upsets,’’ he said.

“The Netherlands have nothing to lose. We need to play smart cricket. You cannot afford to slip up. You have to win as many matches as possible. The more wins you have the better,’’ he pointed out.

The English skipper said that it was a good batting wicket here. “I think we need to see on Tuesday before we can gauge how much it is going to turn and otherwise.’’

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