12 February - Paarl - Ireland Captain Laura Delany pre-match press conference

[Reporter]

Perfect preparation for the World Cup, but do you realize that after your victory over Australia you've raised expectations?

[Laura]

We had some very good warm-up games. Our second game against Bangladesh, we stuck to our plans and processes and we were really happy with the outcome and likewise against Australia. We start again tomorrow and yeah, I would say those around us have definitely raised their expectations as have we of ourselves, but we've spoken a lot about the plans that we want to put in place, try and keep it as simple as possible and if we do that, I think we'll be happy with the outcome.

[Reporter]

The biggest improvement seems to be your boundary count. Have you been practicing your par-heading? You actually scored the Aussies some sixes.

[Laura]

Yeah, we definitely have been working on the power aspect of the game over the last 10 or 12 months with Ed and it's great to see that that's come to fruition now, particularly when we wanted to.

[Reporter]

I was just asking - have you been practicing your par-heading?

[Laura]

Yeah, sorry, we have been over the last 10 or 12 months and I've definitely worked in that game against Australia, short boundaries as well. We know the boundaries here will be slightly bigger than the last game, but one area that we've spoken about is playing fearless cricket and playing our own game from ball one, so hopefully we can continue to play with that freedom.

[Reporter]

And did you watch the match yesterday, England against West Indies?

[Laura]

Yes, we did, taking some notes and we've spent a lot of time on video footage. We haven't played against England in the last three or four years, so it will definitely be a challenge. They're in really good form at the moment and some of the girls have never played against England at all, but it's a challenge that we welcome and we're really looking forward to playing in the stadium tomorrow.

[Reporter]

And just a quick check, is all your players available for selection?

[Laura]

Yeah, everyone is fit and available for selection.

[Reporter]

First, congrats on your great performances in the warm-up games. I'd just like to ask you about the pitches down there. You've obviously seen the England West Indies game and some of the other games, no doubt. How do you think they're playing? Do you think the batting side, say batting first, has an advantage or the bowling side, which is a conducive, do you think, to either of the disciplines?

[Laura]

Yeah, I think yesterday the pitch seemed to take a bit of a turn and slower balls and variations seemed to be key, so that's one area that we'll look to try and focus on tomorrow. It looks like a good batting wicket, really quick outfield. So I think either side, once you put in a good performance, hopefully we should put runs on the board and then variations for us with the ball will be key.

[Reporter]

I think post-match yesterday, the England skipper Heather Knight was saying that they were, you were speaking there to Ian about the batting and the hard hitting, they were saying they were going all out with their batting. Obviously, they wrapped up their game against the West Indies with what, six odd overs to spare. They seem to be hitting the ball very hard and going to score off a run a ball. You're obviously hoping to match that.

[Laura]

Yeah, they play an aggressive game and that's one area that we've tried to focus on over the last 10 months. I think when we played against Australia, we had a brilliant powerplay. Amy and Gabby set the tone early on and when you have a great powerplay, then it gives the middle order a platform to build on. So yeah, with the wicket side here and the quick outfield, we're definitely going to try and push ourselves. We know England have hard hitters and if we want to keep up with the right, we're going to have to do the exact thing.

[Reporter]

So winning against Australia, has that improved your confidence of reaching the knockout stages even more?

[Laura]

Yeah, look, we're just taking it one game at a time. I think in any game, whether it's a warm-up game or a competitive game, you have to go out and compete with the opposition that's in front of you and we've done that well over the last 10 days. We know our game against England tomorrow will be a challenge and we've obviously got a few more games ahead of that, but we're just taking it one game at a time. We obviously have goals and ambitions to get into that semi-final, but our goal for tomorrow is to go out and play our best cricket. Yeah.

[Reporter]

In the warm-up matches, we saw so many players coming to the fold. How does it help so many people in form, so many players in form?

[Laura]

Yeah it's absolutely brilliant. The girls have worked incredibly hard over the last six to eight months and we obviously had a series win against Pakistan and a very good win against South Africa at the start of the summer in Ireland. So there is a lot of confidence within the group. I think the next step now is showing that on the world stage. We didn't qualify for the World Cup, so there will be some nerves there tomorrow, but from a team point of view, there's a lot of energy and there's a great buzz around the group and we just can't wait to get out there and get started.

[Reporter]

You guys done a great job in the warm-up match. What do you think of how that game goes to you for that tournament?

[Laura]

I think it was a great game and we've taken a lot of positives and confidence from it. But as I previously said, we know tomorrow is a new game, new opposition, new wicket. So it will be a completely different challenge. But look, we're really looking forward to playing against England. We know that they're going to challenge us in different ways. We've set our plans, which hopefully we'll stick to. I'm confident that we will. Once we go out and enjoy our cricket, that's when we play our best. So yeah, looking forward to tomorrow.