18 February - Paarl - New Zealand player Maddy Green pre-match press conference
[Reporter]
Maddy, how much of a difference does one match make from the game against South Africa to a great win yesterday against Bangladesh?
[Maddy Green]
Yeah, obviously, winning is a much nicer feeling. You know, I thought the way the girls played yesterday, we're just trying to talk about playing a positive branded cricket and leaving it all out there. So, yeah, really pleased with the performance yesterday and we're looking to continue that momentum into tomorrow.
[Reporter]
Can you tell us a bit about how the sides sort of picked themselves up and I guess dusted themselves off after that South Africa game because they came back really fighting and that game against Bangladesh they put in a really impressive performance.
[Maddy Green]
Yeah, look, I think we've got a great group with us and, you know, obviously, the team was really disappointed with our first two performances, but it's kind of T20 cricket sometimes and, you know, it's trying not to get too up or down with results. And, you know, we obviously, as I said, were disappointed, but we knew that there was sort of one way to play in this last game against Bangladesh. So that's what we tried to do. And, you know, I thought the way that we came out with the bat at the top of the order with Bernie and Susie, they were really impressive and sort of set the tone for the rest of the game.
[Reporter]
Yeah, they say form is temporary, class is permanent, and that couldn't really apply better than to Susie Bates with her performance against Bangladesh.
[Maddy Green]
Yeah, Susie's been hitting the ball so well, you know, and I think she's got incredibly high standards. So, she, you know, was naturally disappointed with her first two performances. But, look, at the same time, you know, we know how destructive she has been for such a long period of time. And she's such a great player and has been probably the best player for New Zealand over such a long period of time. So really pleasing for her to see her performance yesterday, the way that she paced her innings, I thought was perfect. And, you know, she really set the platform for us with the bat to put on a big total. And, you know, as her teammates, you know, we're just really happy to see her succeed. She's such a great teammate. So, you know, we're all really pleased for her.
[Reporter]
You must be pleased with your performance coming in and really accelerating and increasing that run rate to get the team to a high total?
[Maddy Green]
Yeah, look, obviously, pleasing to get some runs and really enjoyed batting with Susie out in the middle. And as I said, I think the way that Bernie and Susie played at the top of the order, they really set the platform for us to be able to bat in that sort of way. So, for me, you know, it was just sort of coming out and we'd spoken about on the side-line trying to get at least 180. So, for me, it was just, there was sort of only one way to play and try to be aggressive and thankfully got a few away. So, yeah, it was really nice batting out there with Batesy and also watching her from the other end, took over some milestones too.
[Reporter]
Yeah, that run rate has decreased considerably or increased considerably. Is there a real genuine belief in the side now that we could potentially pull this off?
[Maddy Green]
Yeah, absolutely. You know, as I said, we know that there's only one way to play and that's attacking and we've got to try to boost our run rate as quickly as possible. So, you know, yesterday we've spoken about just trying to score as many runs and put as many on the board as we can and play a style of cricket that reflects that. So, obviously I thought the wicket yesterday was fantastic from a batting point of view. So that really helped us from that regard. And we know against Sri Lanka, we've got to try to put on a similar performance if we've got any sort of chance of making those semi-finals and the rest of it sort of out of our control. But we're trying to play that style of cricket that gives us a chance and the girls certainly believe that we have still a chance in this tournament.
[Reporter]
Yeah, it's a nice quick turnaround again. Is that almost a blessing given how well the side performed at Newlands?
[Maddy Green]
Yeah, once you get into the proper games here at the tournament, it goes pretty quickly. We obviously had a few days off in between our games with South Africa and then Bangladesh. So that was good from a team point of view to regroup and think about how we want to attack these last two games. But, yeah, it's nice to have - just hopefully keep momentum going into this next game tomorrow and not have too much time to sit and think about things too much. Just get on with it and keep playing that style of cricket that we saw in that last game.
[Reporter]
Sri Lanka had two wins from three and have been one of the form teams in the tournament. Are they surprised you with their form so far?
[Maddy Green]
Yeah, I don't think they've surprised me too much. You know, I think they're a side that's got some great players. Obviously, their captain, Chamari Atapattu, has been a really good player for a long period of time. And I think her ability to have an impact on the game just goes up the shorter the format is. So particularly T20 cricket, we know that she hits the ball really hard. And I think her performance against South Africa in their first pool game, she was absolutely fantastic and she's a really key wicket for us tomorrow. And I think they've got some really good bowlers on their side who bowl with a lot of accuracy and make it difficult to score. So, for us, it's about how we counteract that and put some pressure back on their bowlers. And look, we've got to make sure we take wickets early with the ball and put some pressure on their middle order. So, yeah, look, I think, they're an improving side and, you know, I've seen that in the last couple of T20 tournaments, obviously in Australia as well. I thought they played really well. So, yeah, no surprises there. They're going to be a tough side to beat, but we know that we've got to try and pay that attacking brand of cricket and give ourselves the best chance to go forward in this tournament.
[Reporter]
And just finally, as well as a good performance against Sri Lanka, we'll need a couple of things to go our way as well. Will it be weird sort of betting on Australia for a big win against South Africa today?
[Maddy Green]
Yeah, yeah. I mean, usually with New Zealand and Australia, very competitive, but I certainly think most of the girls will be sitting in the Australian camp tonight and wishing them well for a big performance against them. But look, as I said, there's only certain things we can control and the result of that game certainly isn't one of them. So, look, it'll be what it'll be and we just got to worry about what our job is tomorrow as a team and going out there and performing again. So, yeah, we'll just see what happens. And, you know, fingers crossed that that result goes our way. But, yeah, we'll just see what happens.
