13 March - Tauranga - South Africa Captain Sune Luus pre-match press conference
Reporter: First of all, just thinking about perhaps your personal start to the tournament - I know that you've captained a lot previously but in the lead up to the tournament, you're going to play under Danny for example. So how have you kind of assessed your roles so far in the competition, having to take on the role both as captain as your all-rounder as well?
Sune: Yeah, thank you. This should be something that comes naturally. I do that provincial, and I've obviously been captain for quite a while in last year as well. We had our series against Pakistan and in India as well ahead of this World Cup, so I've had a lot of preparation to kind of just find the balance between being captain and being a player as well. But I think it's been going okay, so I've got a couple of games left. And hopefully I can just lead from the front.
Reporter: And just quickly on Tauranga here. You guys played here, last match and it's a new sort of surface - what did you take out of the last game and the conditions that you would apply for tomorrow?
Sune: Yeah, I think tomorrow is going to be a different ballgame. I think obviously, it's going to be stripped, so it might slip off of it. But I think you know, the game we played here two days ago, I think it was a really good batting wicket. Something in it for the bowling as well, especially at night to get a nice swing. So that's going to be crucial for tomorrow. We'll see how the conditions play and if it's going to pay similar or might slip off a bit.
Reporter: In the 2017 World Cup semifinal, England - we all saw those visuals how it was at the end. Is there some added motivation for the team ahead of this big game tomorrow?
Sune: I don't think so. You know, it's been five years ago. I think a lot has happened in those five years. I think both teams have grown. I think the players games have changed. So I don't think we need to look too much into that semifinal. Like I said, it's five years ago and that's a lot in the cricketing career. So I think tomorrow's a new game, a whole new stage, New World Cup as well. So we'll just take it as it is.
Reporter: Just a question on England. They’ve lost both their games - Do you think this is a perfect time to play them, are they are vulnerable, or do you think that makes them more dangerous than in the last two games?
Sune: Yeah, I think with England losing their two games, I think you got to expect that they're going to come hard tomorrow. I don’t think they're going to leave anything to chance. I think they're going to come all guns blazing and they're going to want to play their best match to get points on the board. But I do think that puts a bit of pressure on themselves. You know, - Yeah, like I said they need the points. But I think we're ready for tomorrow as well. I think if we get the points that will really just give us the momentum that we need to just keep continuing in the World Cup and take one game at a time.
Reporter: You spoke about that game five years ago. Would you say though, that it was the moment that I think we could basically actually went forward from that time - Proficient in terms of launching leads at home in terms of you know, just the general overall from that semifinal, the team base - not just the team but women's cricket in the country just grew.
Sune: Yeah, I don't think it's just that game but I definitely think it played a part - obviously just showed the nation back home that South Africa is a force to be reckoned with, and that we're taking our cricket seriously. But like I said, I don't think that's the only game that played a role in the growth in women's game, especially in South Africa. I think over the last five years, we've - with our team and the help of our sponsor from South Africa, we've done an exceptional job in creating opportunities all around the country and just playing the cricket we've been playing and showing big investors and sponsors and the world out there, that we're very good at cricket, and they need to take us seriously as well. And I think that game kind of just gave us a head start with that.
Reporter: Just following up on the questions about the 2017 game just how different is the team now compared to the 2017 team? And also can we get a bit of Afrikaans as well – just in terms of where the team is ahead of that match.
Sune: Yeah, good morning. Yeah, I think you know, like I said, it's been five years, and the players have grown and the games grown. So I don't want to say we're a whole different team, but I think we've seen a lot more confidence going into this World Cup. So that's definitely taking something we’re taking with to our game tomorrow.
Reporter: Just a question about the batting - you have said multiple times that the batting hasn't quite come together in the first couple of games. Have you had a chat with the batting group, with the management about maybe a possible change in that order - yourself moving up or is that something that you haven't quite decided yet?
Sune: Now that's definitely something we've been talking about. But I still back the unit we have at the moment. I think cricket is a funny game. You only need that one innings to get the ball rolling again. And I think the team and especially the players who's hungry for runs, I think if you keep backing them, you know they'll back themselves. And like I said, you just need that one innings and that inning might be tomorrow for a couple of people, so it's really exciting just to see that. We've been winning games with only a couple of batters getting runs. So I'm really excited for tomorrow and the rest of the tournament for the team to really dial in and the batting units to really come up.
Reporter: And just to follow up on that - you go to half century in the previous game, what did you make of the conditions and how much confidence did that knock give you, considering the situation that you were batting in?
Sune: Yeah, no, it was quite a difficult situation to come in and to balance, to kind of fine tune – to keep rotating the strike without losing a wicket. I don't think the team would have appreciated a 40 for three in the 17th over, so I think it was crucial for myself and Laura to stay in and take it as deep as possible. The conditions were quite good. I think - just think the situation made it a bit more difficult than it was supposed to be. But I think the conditions played very well. Like we’ve seen in - you know, when they came to bat, I think as soon as you show intent and just go hard then it’s definitely valuable runs on this field.
Reporter: We've heard your teammates talk about the initiatives a longer time to play your second match. Now you have a shorter turnaround time - just for you, How much of a difference or do you prefer the shorter turnaround time compared to the longer time you had to wait for your second match? And just can we also have that in Afrikaans?
Sune: Yeah, I would like to say shorter is better, but I'm not 25 anymore. So I'm feeling the 26 part at the moment. Two days is a quick turnaround. But I mean, that's where the fitness part of it comes in and the recovery part, but I think it has two elements to it. I think once you've won that first game, and you have that quick turnaround, I think you take that momentum with you. And I think that's when you just want to keep going and keep going and play your matches as quickly as possible. So I'm actually very happy that we had that longer break right up front. So then we just keep the ball rolling now.
Reporter: Besides being the captain of the side, an extra responsibility you have is that you’re also batting at number four these days - Are you enjoying having a specific role after the years of floating in the batting line up?
Sune: Yeah, it's definitely different having to bat at number four - I've never done it and then you know, at the start of the West Indies series, we looked at the number four spot with Dane not being there, and we needed someone to fill the gap. So I'm lucky that it came off for me and I'm very comfortable there at the moment. So hopefully that will just continue going forward.