11 February - Cape Town - Pakistan Captain Bismah Maroof pre-match press conference
Reporter:
Bismah, first of all how do you look at the preparation of the Pakistan team ahead of this World Cup, how has the preparation been?
Bismah:
We have prepared well and we got a Australia series before that, I think it was a good preparation and I think we got practice matches as well, so yeah we all are prepared and looking forward to the match.
Reporter:
Word from camp that Smriti might not play tomorrow, so do you think that’s sort of an advantage for Pakistan?
Bismah:
No, we don’t think like that, I think we are a very strong side and we’ll try to play the best we can and think of our strengths and play to our strength.
Reporter:
You just mentioned the strengths of the Pakistan team, can you elaborate a bit about the strengths, what do you think the biggest strength is?
Bismah:
It’s important to realise what kind of players we have and what the players individually can impact, I think that will be our – we’ll be backing ourselves and of course our spinning department is always our strength so we’d like to back our spinners and hopefully we can put up a good show tomorrow.
Reporter:
How important do you think is Marks returning to your setup, how many people – I mean you know him, you have worked with him before.
Bismah:
He’s not here with us. No.
Reporter:
And like Diana is not there, is that a disadvantage for you do you think?
Bismah:
She was our main attacker, its really unfortunate that she is not here, but I think opportunity for the other players to grab the opportunity and put up a performance for the team.
Reporter:
Do you think it will put pressure on other bowlers or you're prepared for it?
Bismah:
No, I think all the girls are really prepared and they're looking for the opportunity and we are all hopeful that we can put up a good show tomorrow.
Reporter:
Best wishes for tomorrow. Secondly, if we compare yesterdays match, it is necessary to have around 140 – 145 runs, and since the past few games Pakistan’s top order has been struggling. Tell us what work you have put in to achieve a good total?
Bismah:
Its very important, when we have to set a big total the top order is very important, they play a vital role. We have spoken to them individually and they all have realized how important this is and how important tomorrows match is and the top orders performance really counts I think everyone is ready for the challenge and we are hopeful that we can put up a good show tomorrow.
Reporter:
My question is that you played two practice matches. You won against Bangladesh and you did a good total against South Africa. So, how much boost have you received from these warm-up matches? And the first game is against India, so there is a lot of pressure. It's a big game. So, what is the morale in the camp?
Bismah:
In the warm-up matches, we tried to give everyone a chance to adapt to the situation and the conditions. I think we all are well-prepared and it's definitely a big match. In such a big World Cup, there is pressure in every match. So, we will embrace it and try to play our best cricket.
Reporter:
First of all, tell me how do you see Nida’s performance from the last one year to T20?
She had a very good performance against the last Asian Cup. So, how do you see Nida Dar's experience?
Bismah:
Nida has a very important role in the team. Especially in this battle, she has brought a lot of maturity to the game. She is very confident about her game. She wants to win Pakistan with a big victory in this World Cup. I am hopeful that she will perform well and the team will definitely benefit.
Reporter:
Bismah, there is always a lot of noise surrounding the India-Pakistan match. How do you cut out that noise and focus on the match?
Bismah:
I think we don't see the social media. We don't hear the news. We try to not see such stuff and try to be in the present moment with our team and enjoy ourselves as a group. I think that is the only key we can do that.
