- 6 weeks ago
New Zealand's Sophie Devine admits that India will come into their upcoming fixture as the favourites. The two sides are set to clash in what will be a virtual quarterfinal clash, with the final ticket to the semis up for grabs.
Category
đź—ž
NewsTranscript
00:00Hi Sophie, all the best for the game. It's been a rather interesting or a frustrating week I'll
00:05let you say. We've seen you play with a mosquito bat and crackers rather than on the field the
00:11cricket bat. Could you just describe how it has been for the team as well as you as a captain?
00:18Yeah I think you talk to any cricketer I think weather is probably the most frustrating thing
00:22to have to deal with and unfortunately it's out of your control and for us yeah these past week
00:2710 days have been frustrating we just wanted to play cricket and I think that's something that's
00:31really important to reiterate is we just want to be playing games of cricket. I know I said it after
00:35the game was washed out against Pakistan you wait four years and you want to be playing as much
00:42cricket as possible and have the opportunity to pit yourself against the best in the world so for us
00:46absolutely it's frustrating but you know we're really excited we're here now I haven't seen too
00:51many rain clouds although it rained a fair bit last night when India turned up to train but yeah it's
00:56one of those things we can't control we've need to we've needed to move on and we've done that as a team
00:59and we know exactly I guess where our path leads us and what we have to do to achieve that.
01:06Hi Sophie one of the things I think which has been a concern for you guys has been the opening pair
01:12you know the runs have not been coming from them so have there been any conversations with them
01:17as to what's why they're getting stuck in the first few overs or why there's been a lot of
01:22tickets there have you had any conversations with Susie and Georgia yet? Not personally I'm not
01:27the batting coach but I think for me we've got such belief and trust in the openers and what
01:33they're capable of doing you ask any cricket they've been through a lean patch they've been
01:38through tough times they've struggled they've worked hard they've got themselves out of it and
01:42that's what we believe Susie and Georgia are able to do we know that they've had success in the past
01:46we know the type of players they are so for us it's just about reinforcing the belief that we have
01:51in them the confidence to go out and play their way I think the great thing about Susie is we all
01:55know how old she is and knowing that she's got so much experience and being able to have Georgia at
02:01the other end there to help lean on I think it's a really important thing and that's one of the real
02:05strengths of this group is being able to lean on each other and lean on that support and to keep
02:10giving each other the confidence to go out there and play your game because at the end of the day we just
02:15need to focus on what we can control just like the weather we can't control or do anything about
02:18that just like we won't be able to control the noise or whatever else happens we can control
02:22how we bring our energy to the to the game and what we want to try and achieve so look they haven't had
02:29the returns that they would have liked that's cricket though I think we all know that you fail a lot
02:33more than you succeed hi Sophie last year in Dubai you mentioned how after winning the game at the group
02:44game against India you mentioned how New Zealand had identified that particular game as the one
02:50crucial to their semi-final push and where we are right now the situation is again brought you to a
02:57very pretty similar circumstances again is the approach any different or is it being treated like
03:04any other game I guess the biggest difference between last year's world cup is the format of that
03:10and I think we identified obviously to get through the pool stages you know that was a very crucial
03:14game whereas here you've had to play well you would have liked to have played everyone if the weather
03:18didn't intervene but for us yeah it's now shaped up as I said just before that this is pretty much a
03:23quarterfinal and we're really stepping towards that pressure I know look in all honesty I can't begin
03:31to imagine the type of pressure that the Indian team is under I know when we played at a home world cup
03:35the pressure that we felt to perform in front of our home crowd in front of our own country was
03:40at times overwhelming so I can't imagine what that's like with a billion people you know tuned
03:44into the tv screens and the expectation and the weight that's on their shoulders you know I've got
03:50you know real empathy for them having to try and deal with that while also go out and perform
03:53so for us yeah I think it is it's a really exciting challenge we actually just spoke in a team meeting just
03:59before that these are the moments that you want to be playing cricket in a pretty much knockout game
04:04against India in India at a world cup so we're incredibly excited we're obviously under no
04:10illusions that India is still the favorites without a doubt and we will wear their underdog badge with
04:15with pride as Kiwis often do yeah but for us it is we know the pressure that India are under at home
04:21but we're just going to go out there and again control what we can control and make sure we stick
04:25to what we we do well as a Kiwi side as you said it's a virtual quarterfinal and New Zealand has a
04:32terrific record against India in world cups does it help when you face a team against which you have
04:39a good record in a must-win situation yeah ask me after the game tomorrow because I think that's
04:45generally the way it goes isn't it I think you can certainly look at it a whole lot of different
04:49ways and for us absolutely we can get confidence from the fact that we've played them in pressure
04:53situations before it sort of knockout points of a tournament but tomorrow's a new game and everyone
04:59starts on zero and yeah I think for us it does and I know I keep repeating myself but it is it's just a
05:05real opportunity for us to go out there and can control what we can control because as soon as you get
05:11distracted by other things you know I think your performance gets impacted so for us that's what
05:16we can do best as a team Sophie what is the secret to your longevity in the game almost 20 years in
05:23the game yours Susie's and Lita who's who came five years after you debuted and how much of that
05:30experience will count in tomorrow's virtual quarterfinal you're speaking about the pressure
05:35that India will be going through being a home world cup and the expectations how will your experience
05:40count in tomorrow's virtual knockout thanks for not saying I'm old I appreciate that um experienced
05:48is nice but yeah look I think something in the water and the love and passion that we have for New
05:53Zealand cricket and wanting to keep I guess turning up and showing up to represent the fern which is
05:58so important to us I know it is for Suze and for everyone in this group so we take great pride in
06:03making sure that we're in good enough nick to make sure that we we're capable of being able to perform
06:08and that's always something we've said is we need to be leading with our performances and our actions
06:12so certainly standing beside Suze and Leah I know that they're going to give it their all
06:16in terms of the experience absolutely and it's not just us three I mean you look at
06:21Mili Kerr she's still only 24 25 recently and she's nearly played 10 years of international cricket
06:26so there's so many people that have had experience at different phases in their life in different
06:30conditions in different tournaments that I think it's really important to to go back to and and that's
06:36something that's really special about this group despite some youngsters that we've got that are at
06:40the start of their international journey they've still played cricket in different under different
06:44pressures and they've had to perform at different stages so again it is it's such a cool opportunity
06:49and this is why you play high performance sport it's why you play international cricket is because
06:55you want to be put under the most intense pressure and see how you stand up so we're certainly going
07:00to lean on each other a lot I think we're going to have to knowing that it's probably going to be
07:03about 99.9% people supporting India here tomorrow and there's going to be a sea of blue but
07:08again to me that's just a really exciting opportunity to not only showcase the women's game but showcase
07:14New Zealand cricket and as you mentioned we've had a great record not just females but males as well
07:19of playing India in these sort of tournaments
07:21this is going to be only the second one international for this for this venue how much of knowledge have you tried to gain from the time that you have arrived here from the past experiences of playing at this venue in terms of WPL and other competitions like that
07:42yeah thank goodness for the internet and the ability to be able to scout different games obviously we played WPL here a couple of years ago now and there's been different competitions and different games have been played here
07:53I think again you've sort of got to take that with a pinch of salt because you know men's cricket women's cricket T20 different formats can produce different wickets but I think looking at it now it looks like it's going to be a great batting wicket the outfield is at light carpet so I'm expecting that to be lightning quick so I think you know it's going to be a high scoring venue for us
08:11as I've said all along about this competition in particular it's about who can adapt to those conditions best and be able to
08:18yeah I guess understand what's going to be required out there whether it's 240 or whether it's 340 I don't I don't know but the team that can adjust and I guess yeah can adapt to those conditions and execute their plans is going to come out on top but I'm really excited it's a great stadium
08:35obviously I've just heard that it's maybe sold out hopefully so yeah again it's going to be a really good atmosphere here tomorrow
08:43Sophie having played for such a long time are you happy to see the way cricket has grown the women's cricket has come along in India in the last two decades you would have played World Cups here earlier as well
08:55and now to come here and see you know you said you're expecting a packed crowd tomorrow playing at all these world class venues do you think that's good for women's game that the way the game has grown in India
09:04absolutely I think it's great when I think back to the 2013 World Cup that we had here in India over 10 years ago now and some of the crowds you know there probably wasn't too many people sitting in the stands to think now the noise and the atmosphere and the energy that's being brought by the Indian people has been awesome
09:20and everyone knows that especially as cricket as India is the place that you want to go play because people just love the game so much so yeah it is we've spoken a lot about it that it's a really awesome opportunity that we've got a role to play in terms of showcasing the women's game
09:34I guess it goes back to the Indian team at the moment have got a lot of pressure on them to be able to perform and to match up to those expectations that are now starting to fall on them as they're I guess
09:45yeah as they grow in popularity and as they become household names with that becomes a lot of pressure to be able to perform and stand up to that so yeah I think it's great for the women's game
09:57that's what we all want as female cricketers is to be put under the same scrutiny as the men as whoever's playing so yeah for us we are I think it's really awesome to see the growth of the women's game I still think there's a long way to go in terms of not just on par with men but overtaking the men's game I think there's real opportunities there and we're seeing that with how quickly the women's games develop probably even over the last five years
10:19Sophie not trying to get you mad here but do you know that there's rain forecast for tomorrow
10:25I'm not surprised to be honest I expect there to be rain everywhere we go at the moment but again like I said I'm sort of a bit of a
10:34on repeat here but you can't control the weather we'll deal with it if it comes there's no point worrying about it I mean
10:41yeah I'm sure most teams have got about seven different weather apps and the rain radar and you're trying to talk to the ground staff
10:47and try and get as much insight as you can but until it actually falls down and the umpires call you off
10:52we're just focused on what we want to do and hopefully getting a full hundred overs of cricket in would be really nice
10:58hi was talking with Maddie yesterday and she was you know mentioning that you guys will be looking into tapping into the knowledge of Millie here because of course
11:13she has played a lot at this ground and knows Herman and knows the Indian team also quite a lot
11:17and would perhaps be the better judge of how the pitch is and how it is going to be
11:22and also she has you know in her last five women's ODI games against India has scored one century and four half centuries
11:28so what are how crucial do you think Millie will be in tomorrow's game and what are you sort of expecting out of her
11:33I think it's not just tomorrow but everyone expects Millie to to perform and to to give to this group
11:41and I think the really exciting thing about her is she's got such a level head about her like you say
11:46she's played a lot with Harmon she's obviously played with the Mumbai Indians here and hopefully
11:50she's got a few fans in the crowd as well that'll be cheering for New Zealand in here but
11:53I think for us it is really important that we share that information and
11:56yeah I guess how we use that is going to be important as well but
12:00like I said we don't exactly know what the pitch is going to play like we can look at all the stats
12:05we can look at all the information but at the end of the day it's what's going to be played out in front of us
12:09that's going to be incredibly important so
12:10for us again I'm really excited to see what Millie can do but not just Millie the whole group
12:15I think whoever's selected tomorrow to go out there and to play for New Zealand to wear the shirt
12:20is a really exciting opportunity and again
12:22you say Millie knows some of those Indian players really well they also know Millie well
12:27and I think that's the great thing about franchise cricket is it's not all one way
12:31it's certainly you know both ways but again I go back to I think the Indians probably have
12:36enough pressure on them coming from the rest of your country to try and perform and get through
12:41to a semi-final which I know is the expectation for them so again we'll let the Indian public
12:47and the media and all that give give the Indian team enough pressure and we'll just keep going
12:52about our thing thanks everyone
Be the first to comment