16 February - Cape Town - New Zealand player Lea Tahuhu pre-match press conference
[Reporter]
Thanks everyone for joining us for the pre-match media with Lea Tahuhu ahead of the New Zealand Bangladesh game tomorrow. We've got a few on Zoom and a few in person here. So we'll just start with people in person. For those of you on Zoom, if you can just put yourself on silence and I'll let you know when we're ready for you. If you just raise your hand, if you'd like to ask a question, we'll just start with Gamesh here.
[Reporter]
Thank you. Hi Lea. All the best for tomorrow's game. So how has been the morale in the dressing room since what happened the other day at the bar?
[Lea Tahuhu]
Yeah, obviously it was pretty tough loss to swallow and we took a bit of time, we had some good chats about it and we've had to find a way to pick ourselves up and move on knowing that, you know, we've still got two really important games to go in this World Cup.
[Reporter]
Anything specific you have worked on, you know, in the Nets or the training sessions since then?
[Lea Tahuhu]
Yeah, we've had a couple of really good training sessions and I think the betters have been putting in a lot of work, certainly trying to look at ways that we can improve our options. That's really one of the things that we've been really looking at. So yeah, hopefully we can go out there tomorrow and put a bit of performance on the park.
[Reporter]
Also a while ago, Springboks captain Siakol Lisi was interacting with the New Zealand team. What are the conversations like, you know, what was the experience like and what are the conversations the players were having with him if you go to talk about that?
[Lea Tahuhu]
Yeah, it was pretty incredible for him to stop by. I think he just actually saw Mone out in the field, he was he was just here. So it was just luck that that we happened to be there and but pretty, he's a pretty inspirational guy, certainly, and a few of us have read his book and know a lot about him. So to just be able to, I guess, rub shoulders with someone of his magnitude is pretty awesome.
[Reporter]
Thank you and all the best.
[Lea Tahuhu]
Thank you.
[Reporter]
Yeah, hi, Shubhayan from Repsports. So Lea, of course, Sophie Devine gave a very emotional and press conference after the match. So how did she address the player after going back to the dressing room? And what was the sort of conversation you guys had?
[Lea Tahuhu]
Yeah, look, Ben did a lot of the talking to be fair. I think as we know, Sophie was quite frustrated and emotional. And so Ben took the lead on that. And we just talked about how we want to play and we're not putting that out there. You know, we've done a lot of work leading into this tournament. So it's really disappointing to see the results that we have been getting. But again, we know that tomorrow, we've got another chance to go out there and pull on the black shirt and hopefully put in a good performance for our country.
[Reporter]
The next question is on Susie Bates, I mean, two back to back ducks, of course, she has done so much for New Zealand and world cricket. So how she's going about her business in the practice and what sort of morale or body language you are witnessing from Susie now?
[Lea Tahuhu]
Yeah, incredibly positive. I think she's a really special person. And she's like you say, she's been great for New Zealand cricket and will continue to be great for New Zealand cricket. And she goes about her business very positively. We know that's the type of player that she is. And we certainly all backing her to bounce back.
[Reporter]
And the last one, what are the areas do you think New Zealand need to be absolutely spot on when playing the next match?
[Lea Tahuhu]
Yeah, I think we probably just need to make some better decisions with the bat. We'll continue to be consistent with the ball. I think there's areas that we can improve there and certainly in the field as well. So look, all three facets of the game, we're looking to get better at and hopefully we'll put that out there tomorrow.
[Reporter]
Hi Leah, you played both the games in ball, do you think a change of scenery, a change of venue might just work in your favour?
[Lea Tahuhu]
Yeah, that'd be great, wouldn't it? Change of venue, change of luck. We'll certainly take that on. Thanks. Yeah, look, we've had a look at the pitch there and we know that it's going to be a different one to what the rest of the teams have played on that they've been here. So we're looking forward to getting out there and seeing what we can get out of that wicket.
[Reporter]
And then just what are you expecting from Bangladesh, your opponent?
[Lea Tahuhu]
Yeah, we know that they've got a really talented young quick who's up and coming, got some strong batters and certainly their spin is a real threat. We obviously played them a couple of months ago and we had some success against them. So we'll be looking to put similar plans out there and hopefully be successful tomorrow.
[Reporter]
Vimal Kumar this side. So far in this tournament, Australia, England and India, these are three sites who have been unbeaten, who, according to you, looks the strongest?
[Lea Tahuhu]
Look, it's hard to go past Australia, isn't it? Like I think they've got quality players right throughout the board. You get someone out and they bat down to about eight or nine, you're thinking, gosh, how are we going to keep going here? So yeah, look, I think Australia obviously looking in a really strong position again at this World Cup.
[Reporter]
I actually think there isn't anyone on Zoom, unless Tom Masters, you want to ask a question?
[Reporter]
Yeah, hi there, I just wanted to ask about kind of your form so far, obviously five wickets now. I mean, how great has that been for you and how, obviously, the results perhaps not going quite the way you would want to with the wickets and from a personal point of view, how happy have you been with that?
[Lea Tahuhu]
Yeah, look, it's been nice to be picking up some wickets. You know, like you said, obviously, for me, it doesn't mean too much if we're not getting results. So I'm just trying to take as many wickets as I possibly can and put us in a good position, bowl them out for a little bit less and maybe we'll be able to chase that down.
[Reporter]
And you mentioned the Newlands field, I mean, how do you think that's going to be in terms of bowling? How do you think that's going to go compared to what you've bowled on so far?
[Lea Tahuhu]
Yeah, it looks like a great pitch. I mean, to be fair, Paarl was also a very good pitch, I thought maybe a little bit too paced, but I think it might be a little bit truer here tomorrow. So hopefully, we can exploit that a little bit early on.
[Reporter]
Cool. Thank you very much and good luck. Thank you.
[Reporter]
Yeah, just one last one for me. The other day, Sophie spoke about the New Zealand domestic structure and the things that need to be improved, you know, to prepare for the international standards better. Your thoughts on what could be done differently or done better, you know, with respect to the things back home in the domestic competition set up? Your thoughts on that?
[Lea Tahuhu]
Yeah, look, I think it's going to take time to see the results. There have been changes that have been implemented. We've got some domestic players who are now contracted, I think there's 12 per domestic side who are contracted. And now Super Smash, we've started to see some internationals come over and play and I think it's just going to take time for that to build. It's no shock or surprise that we're in a little bit of a transition phase. I think that's pretty obvious. And so like I say, it might take a couple of years to start seeing those results from domestic and then into the international team.
[Reporter]
Thank you. Last chance for anyone else? Cool. We'll wrap it up there. Thanks a lot, everyone. Thanks, guys.