20 February - Cape Town - Pakistan player Sadia Iqbal pre-match press conference
[Reporter]
First question, how do you see that your match against India and the West Indies was very close, but unfortunately you couldn't win? What is the learning for you and how disappointed are you that you couldn't win the match?
[Sadia Iqbal]
This is cricket and cricket is a game in which ups and downs are common, so it was good that we could go so close against India and the West Indies. It is a good learning for our team, for the girls that we are playing such close matches, because in future we could win such matches.
[Reporter]
Sadia, how do you see that tomorrow you are playing against England. England is a very big side and they are performing very well. They have won all three matches in this group and obviously they are leading. What would you like to do special? How would you like to give a good performance against them?
[Sadia Iqbal]
Definitely England is a very big side and among the top teams. They have won all their matches in the pool. So, it will be a good match and a tough match. The team is trying to do its best and we will continue to try doing our best against England too.
[Reporter]
We saw that Nida Dar was bowling very well yesterday and she was batting as well. But yesterday she made a record and she has equalized it to Anisa Muhammad. She is the highest wicket taker in T20I format. How encouraging is it for you as a spinner and how encouraging is it for your team as a senior member?
[Sadia Iqbal]
Obviously, it is a great achievement for Pakistan women's cricket. We see all this and learn from these things that it is definitely a great achievement for Nida Dar and Pakistan women's cricket. It is an inspiration for the upcoming youngsters. God willing, we will see good things from them. They have achieved so much. So, we will also try to take them forward. As a spinner, I see what good things they have and what they do well. I also talk to them a lot. So, these things will be very beneficial and it is a great achievement for Pakistan.
[Reporter]
How do you see the role of spinners in T20 Cricket in women's cricket? Especially, when you are bowling with the new ball. So, what do you think – how important is it for women's cricket to bowl slow?
[Sadia Iqbal]
It depends on which position/number you are bowling for the team. So, obviously, it is a very good thing to come into the team and play such a big event in the World Cup and bowl with a new ball. So, it is just that as a spinner, I should work on whatever the team demands and work accordingly.
[Reporter]
Before coming to South Africa, did you expect the kind of help that spinners got? I have seen Muniba, Dipti Sharma, Hayley Matthews, you get help – did you expect that kind of help or was it just the focus on fast bowling?
[Sadia Iqbal]
Before this the tri-series of the West Indies, India and South Africa we saw that the wickets were helping the spinners a lot. So, we were prepared for the spinners to get some help, and we expected the pitch to favour the spinners. Before that, there was the U-19 World Cup and we saw that the spinners were getting a lot of help.
[Reporter]
The way Pakistan has performed, especially in the batting department, we saw the World Cup in New Zealand and before that in Australia – the amount of improvement from there to here, especially in T20 batting, overall we are seeing positive change in the batting department. tell us a little about that.
[Sadia Iqbal]
You see India’s match and Ireland's match, the batters had helped set up a good target to defend. Yesterday it was a low chase by the opposition, but the positive thing is the team is doing well in batting as well as bowling. Everyone is playing their roles very well. In batting too we have done very well, in T20 Muniba scored a 100, and we set a good target, against India and Ireland both.
Earlier, we used to get low scores. Compared to that there is a lot of improvement in our batting.