00:00Natasha, this being Hong Kong's first Women's Asia Cup, what goals have you and your team set
00:06for the tournament? Actually, probably something we should look into. I think we've actually been
00:12in the Asia Cup before in 2012, but I'm not sure what that kind of setup was like. But I
00:19believe
00:19this is our first time going through the qualification process and qualifying for the
00:23Asia Cup, as it were. Our goals that we've spoken about as a team, I think, you know,
00:28is to kind of relish in the moment. You know, it's not often that we get the opportunity to play
00:32teams like India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka and that, and the likes of Smriti and Harman Preet and the
00:39sort of big names on the international stage. So I think it's kind of, you know, how do we take
00:43this in our stride and make the most of the opportunity and go out there and express ourselves
00:48and, you know, show what Hong Kong has been doing for the last few years and how we can compete
00:52at
00:52that level. Okay. So against a powerhouse like India, what mindset would you and your team want
01:00to have and which Indian players are you looking forward to playing against?
01:06Interesting that you asked me that, actually. It was very kind. We had a Mahalo Jari Wardner come
01:10and speak to us recently. And I think, you know, one big important takeaway that we took from that
01:16conversation was kind of, how do we kind of play the game and not the opposition? You know,
01:21trying to look at India and, you know, yes, they're a big powerhouse team. They've got some
01:25brilliant, you know, incredible legends of women's cricket that will go on and make, you know,
01:30history in the game. But how do we kind of put that to one side and go out there and
01:34play the ball
01:36and the game itself rather than the bowler or the batter? So that's one kind of thing we've spoken
01:41about and how we'd like to approach that. But I think, you know, underlying all of that, you know,
01:46the reality is we are playing, you know, big names. And I think it sort of goes without saying,
01:52you know, to play against the Smriti and Renuka Thakur and DT and Harman Pree will, you know,
01:58be a big challenge. And Fatima Sana with Pakistan and, you know, there's lots of names in the mix
02:03there who've been around the world in the WBBL and 100 and stuff like that. So, you know,
02:07you're going to go out there, test your skills against them and hopefully learn, you know,
02:11by playing against them and from watching them. Okay. So having played so much cricket in England
02:18against some of the world's best, how are you looking forward to bring that winning mentality
02:23into the team ahead of this major tournament? Yeah, as you said, I've been very lucky to play
02:31with some incredible players in English cricket through my career there. And I've learned, you
02:36know, loads from the likes of Charlotte Edwards, Sarah Taylor, and some of those girls, Heather Knight,
02:40who I've played cricket with for many years. So, you know, taking all of that experience into the
02:45game is going to be kind of fun and a little bit of challenge to kind of keep myself cool
02:50in some
02:50of the situations. But I think as a team, we've come together really well. And I've got a great,
02:56you know, support system through Mamta, our coach, and through some of the senior players. So,
03:01you know, being able to balance ideas that I've had and seen in the game and talk about sort of
03:06fresh
03:07things that they've seen from a different perspective will really be key in how we approach
03:11this tournament. You know, I've been lucky enough to play actually with Harman Preet quite a few
03:16years ago in Manchester when we were with the Lancashire Lightning, sorry, in the Super League
03:23in the early days there. So, you know, she's obviously, you know, improved and progressed a huge
03:29amount since then. And so it'll be a slightly different challenge, but sort of trying to reflect
03:33back on things I've learned from playing with her, you know, try and take that into the game.
03:37Okay. So who do you believe can be Hong Kong's trump card in this Asia Cup?
03:45Well, that's a very good question. I think, you know, in the last few months, it's sort of hard
03:51to pinpoint one. We've really, you know, not to sound cheesy, but Mamta has worked really hard with
03:56the group to sort of make us a unit, as it were. We try not to rely on it. But,
04:00you know, we've got a
04:00number of really talented players through there. You know, Mariam Beebe has really come
04:05through and shined, you know, a light on her talent in the middle order there as a batter
04:10and kind of come in and allowed us to have a longer batting unit. And that with Marina
04:16Lampard, who's come in, in the middle of the order as well, has given us a bit of depth
04:20and she's been bowling with a spin for us. So that's, you know, quite handy. Our top three
04:24have been pretty settled between me, Mariko and Yaz. So looking forward to what that, you know,
04:29is going to set a platform for the rest of the team. I think, you know, Carrie Chan is
04:34always one to look out for. She's, you know, a dual threat there as a very talented bowler
04:39and a great batsman. And she's, you know, been in that top hundred of all-rounders in
04:44world cricket over the years. So, you know, hard to pinpoint one name or another, but, you
04:49know, there's quite a good crop there. You know, we've got opening bowlers in Aker and
04:52Allison who really sort of hit their straps in the last few months. So hard to say one,
04:56but I think if I was going to look to somebody that could be a little bit of a game
04:59change
04:59with a bit of a fight, I think Marianne Beebe has shown a lot of that in the last few
05:03months
05:04for us.
05:05Okay. So now that Hong Kong are playing in the Asia Cup, the next step is the Women's
05:10T20 World Cup. So what aspects of Hong Kong cricket do you believe that needs to improve
05:15so that they can now go to the next stage and play in the T20 World Cup with more big
05:21names?
05:22Um, I think more exposure to competitions like this and, and for sure, just kind of developing
05:27that consistency and that mindset and how to sort of maintain that, um, winning mindset
05:33and, and consistency and like performance and stuff like that. You know, I think we're
05:38a team where, you know, we've had some pretty standout performances, um, in patches and that's
05:43starting to get bigger where we're having longer, longer purple periods where we're actually
05:47really capitalizing on, on being in form and it's, you know, how can we take that and,
05:52and make that habit as it were, you know, make winning a habit, make, you know, turning
05:56up and performing a habit sort of, I think that's our next, our next step.
06:01Natasha, you, uh, earlier say that you had, uh, you played alongside a Harman piece.
06:06So had, had you had a chance to, uh, uh, interact with her or any of the other Indian
06:11cricketers?
06:14Um, very, very limited. Um, mostly only Harman Preet. I haven't really had much of a chance
06:20to interact with the others. I haven't played alongside them or against them much, but, um,
06:24Harman Preet being one, uh, in, in, in, like, at Lancashire for, I think it was a year, year
06:29we played together there and, you know, watching her, how she operated in the dressing room,
06:33how she, um, operated within the team and kind of the insight she brought. That was sort
06:38of, if not exactly 10 years ago now that we, we played in that league. So, you know, there's
06:42a lot more I'm sure she's learned since then and, and for sure she's delivering on the world
06:47stage. So.
06:50Thank you. Thank you, Natasha. It's been an honor speaking to you. It's been, it's been
06:54great. I'm really looking forward to seeing Hong Kong play in the women's Asia career.
06:59I hope there are more coverage, more, more and more people watch you guys.
07:03And I, and I hope you guys do well, or maybe pull off an upset or two, maybe not against
07:08India, but yeah, I would love to do it against an India, but I'm sure the Indian fans probably
07:14wouldn't enjoy that too much, but thank you so much for having me. And it's been really
07:17nice to speak with you. So hopefully I'll speak to you again soon.
07:21Thank you so much. That's an honor.
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