17 February - Gqeberha - Australia Coach Shelley Nitschke pre-match press conference

[REPORTER]

Hey, Shelley, another good win overnight and to do it in such a dominant way to have Beth and Alyssa up the top. I mean, it must be, you must be feeling really confident about how the competition's been going so far.

[Shelley Nitschke]

Yeah, it was a really good performance by us last night against Sri Lanka, obviously getting the runs and down and seeing both Beth and Alyssa hold us together there at the top was really good signs for us, but obviously a big game coming up tomorrow night against South Africa, which is a big one for us.

[REPORTER]

Obviously a couple of really strong contributors with the ball, but I guess just want to pay special mention to Grace Harris, who kind of had a hand in everything for the first couple of wickets, that catch and then a couple of wickets of her own. I mean, being able to call upon someone like Grace to bowl some overs and have that influence in the field must be a really handy thing to have up your sleeve.

[Shelley Nitschke]

Yeah, it is. Grace is obviously a batter in her own right and I think we've all seen how damaging she can be with a bat, but to have her, she just wants to be involved in the game, so we always know that if there's a match-up and the conditions are right, she's an option with the ball and I think that situation presented itself last night, she took it with both hands, so Lois being in the game was good to see her have an impact with the ball, which is promising for us to know that we've got that option if need be.

[Reporter]

To take that catch and dismiss Chamari, who is Sri Lanka's probably most dangerous batter, I mean, the energy that that gives the team when Sri Lanka got off to a really good start, is that just something that Grace can bring naturally because there's a bit of a, I guess, a flare around the catch as well?

[Shelley Nitschke]

Yeah, I think so. I think the girls were having a go at it. There may have been a little bit of mayo on the catch. She actually thought Tahlia was going to take it and then had to launch at the last minute, but that's just sort of the type of player she is. She had an amazing run out in our first game as well and she does things like that. She has X Factor and loves being involved and having an impact on the game and lifts everyone with her. So she plays a big part in driving that energy out there and I think people feed off it. So she was on display again last night showing how she can impact the game.

[REPORTER]

Thanks, Shelley.

[Shelley Nitschke]

Thank you.

[Reporter]

Laura Jolly.

[Reporter]

Hey Shelley. Mitch mentioned yesterday that it might be a new deck in play tomorrow and that it looked maybe a bit greener than the other. Have you heard much about the conditions for tomorrow?

[Shelley Nitschke]

No, not yet. I think the covers went on pretty soon after the game finished last night. Expecting some rain and as they were expecting some today. But yeah, we understand that all things being equal, if preparation is able to happen, that we will be on a new deck tomorrow night. So hopefully try and get out there maybe later today, if not tomorrow morning and have a bit of a closer inspection of that and see what we might be in for there. But all things being equal, I think we could be on a new deck, but we'll have to just sort of wait and see how it plays out in the next sort of 24 hours.

[Reporter]

And South Africa have a pretty different looking attack to what you've just played against with Shabnim Ismail, but also the left arm spin in Mlaba. How are you guys going about preparing for that?

[Shelley Nitschke]

I think the way we sort of prepare for most games, we sort of make sure that we're having a really good look at the opposition, whether it's with the bat or with the ball and know what to expect. I guess looking at sort of their plans and strategies that they've been employing across the tournament and making sure that nothing's taking us off guard and the batters are really well planned individually and know what their options are. So yeah, it's slightly different. There's probably a little bit more pace. They've got some good variety in their attack. They're playing good cricket. So they're obviously the home team. So we certainly need to be making sure we're ready to go tomorrow night.

[Reporter]

Thanks, Shell.

[Moderator]

Thanks. Anisha?

[Reporter]

Thanks, Pat. Hi, Shelley. Given during the 2020 edition of the T20 World Cup, the semi-final between Australia and South Africa was a closely contested one, albeit it was in a rain-curtailed affair. Has there been any talk around that game in the lead up to this contest? No, there actually hasn't been, to be honest. I think we'll sort of start to chat more about the South Africa game today and tomorrow morning. But in the lead up, there's been a little bit of a reflection on the last T20 and how that all played out for us, but we sort of haven't gone into specifics discussing that game. I think they've got a bit of a different look side now, South Africa. So it's probably a few new faces and a different style of play that we have to be wary of. So we haven't really spoken too much about that. We've got some players that weren't there during that T20 World Cup as well. So I think we'll just be taking every game as it comes and making sure that the opposition that's in front of us, we're well and truly prepared for them. But we haven't sort of referred to that too much at this point.

[Reporter]

And given South Africa lost their first game, their campaign is kind of on the line. Do you think a resurgence in South Africa, having won against New Zealand, could really be a strong challenge against this Australian side?

[Shelley Nitschke]

Yeah, definitely. I think any game in a T20 World Cup is a challenge and you have to be ready. And they've got nothing to lose, so we expect them to throw everything at us and we need to make sure we're ready. They've got some really damaging players, both with bat and ball, that can take a game away from us. So we certainly need to make sure that we're also on our game and ready for that. So certainly they're the hometown team and we'll have the support of the crowd. So it should be an exciting match, we're looking forward to it.

[Reporter]

And how pleasing was it to see Beth Mooney amongst the runs yesterday following a couple of low scores, really? Have you had a chance to speak to her after that 50 of hers, because Alisa did mention that it might go on to boost Mooney's confidence because she had been hitting well in the nets, but it wasn't translating on the field.

[Shelley Nitschke]

That's right. I had a quick chat to Moons after the game last night and she was happy, I guess, to be back in the runs, but personally she had a couple of lean games to start the tournament, but we always know that she's going to come good at some stage, such as the player that she is. She trains well. She doesn't get too hung up when she doesn't make a score and goes out there and takes the game on and it was fantastic to see her play like she did last night with Alisa as well and bring us home without losing a wicket. So I think Moons will take a lot away from that, from confidence, and I expect her to continue to contribute to this team as she always does.

[Reporter]

Thanks Shelley and all the best.

[Shelley Nitschke]

Thank you.

[Moderator]

Thanks, Anisha. Mel Farrell.

[Reporter]

Thanks Pat. Hey Shelly, I was thinking that you probably would have liked to have bowled on that pitch that you've had in these games so far here. That was actually the most number of overs of spin, Australia River bowled in the T20, I think. Even though it's a new pitch, a different pitch, I won't call it new, are you expecting the game against South Africa to be heavily reliant on spin again?

[Shelley Nitschke]

I think we'll have to sort of read that one pretty quickly. I think most of the wickets that we've had here have provided something for the spinners, as they have something for the seamers at times too. So I think that's something that we're probably going to have to read pretty quickly within the game and I think we should have enough options out there to cover everything. But I expect it to take some turn as it's been a consistent theme through the tournament. But yeah, I think it's something that we're going to have to read pretty quickly and adapt to whether that's with both bat and ball.

[Reporter]

You've obviously got a lot of options and brought Georgia in for Jess. What kind of things are you considering on the types of spinners that you choose and how happy are you to see how Georgia has contributed since coming straight back in?

[Shelley Nitschke]

Yeah, obviously, having Georgia making her way back into team and contributing straight away has been fantastic for her. It's been a long sort of 12 to 14 months for her coming back from a serious knee injury and how she's managed that and kept pushing for a spot has been fantastic and to go out there and have impact straight away, I think it's just a matter of looking at our spinners and what role they'll play within the group and how that sort of fits to the matchups and the conditions of what we're presented with, so making sure we get a good balance there and get that right every game.

[Reporter]

And just finally, how have you managed things this week in the wake of that IPL auction and some players being picked up for quite a lot of money, some players going for a lot lower and some missing out altogether, how have you sort of kept your eye on the group, I guess? And has it been a little bit awkward, do you think?

[Shelley Nitschke]

Look, I think it had the potential to be a little bit awkward. It was something that we'd spoken about right from the start that it was coming during the World Cup at some stage and we didn't sort of shy away from it. So the way it sort of played out for us, it was held, I think it started sort of halfway through a training session. We had the rest of the day off, I suppose, after training and then we had most of the next day before we played a night game. So we had some time to sort of be at a process that I suppose and players to deal with the outcome of that as well. But I think the girls have been really good in how they've managed it. Yeah, quite a tricky one at times, but we sort of didn't shy away from the fact that it was coming up and people sort of gotten around people and pulled together as a team and we had a bit of a discussion that once that was done, we needed to now, I guess lower our eyes and focus on what was in front of us and at that point in time, it was the game against Bangladesh.

[Reporter]

Thanks.

[Shelley Nitschke]

Thank you.

[Moderator]

Thanks, Mel. And we'll just finish with one quick one from Ganesh.

[Reporter]

Thank you. Hi, actually, all the best for tomorrow's game. Mine is a kind of an off field question. Just wanted to pick your thoughts on you being the only women head coach in this World Cup and what could be done? What do you think the reason for that is in the larger scheme of things and what could be done better to, I know, get a lot more women head coaches in international setups?

[Shelley Nitschke]

Yeah, I hadn't actually thought about it until then. But look, I think, I think things like that, you know, the WPL, there's a lot of female coaches involved with that as well. But I think it's just about providing opportunities for all coaches. And as we see that more and more females get involved. So I think from those sorts of competitions, they can, you know, have that confidence to keep sticking a hand up for positions as well. So I think as the game grows, I'm hoping that we will see more, you know, females involved in coaching roles.

[Reporter]

Thank you and all the best.