20 February - Gqeberha - Ireland Captain Laura Delany post-match press conference
[Reporter]
Given that it was just the five runs, and how the first half and the first overs of your innings went, did you think that you'd get that close, and do you feel like it's one that got away considering you were that close, or were India always ahead of the game?
[Laura Delany]
To be honest, myself and Gabby hadn't even looked at the DL score, I feel like the weather changed so quickly, and we were so focused on what our plans were, where we were trying to target, what boundaries we were trying to take on, and what bowlers we were trying to take on. We didn't even take it into consideration, so it's definitely something that we can have a chat about going forward. But yeah, it obviously is disappointing to come off the pitch and to lose by only a few runs. But yeah, it's not something that we really spoke about at a huge amount out there.
[Reporter]
Yesterday I asked you about, maybe in the West Indies game, going less aggressive to avoid those wickets in clusters. Is that something that kind of fed into the game a little bit today? Because you lost two early wickets, but you look like you've re-stabilised really nicely. Is that a lesson you took from the rest of the tournament?
[Laura Delany]
Yeah, I think Ed's message has been pretty consistent. He backs us to play with freedom and confidence, and we want to play a more aggressive and attacking style of cricket, and unfortunately at times that's not going to come off. And it definitely has come off for our top three batters, Orla and Amy were unfortunate today. But I suppose myself and Gabby out there, we assess the conditions and we knew that there were going to be bad balls, but it was a matter of trying to turn those good balls into ones or twos, and then make sure that we got the boundary with the bad balls.
[Reporter]
I think you hit two of your first five to cover, or something like that, like you started really well. Is that kind of what you're talking about there? Those were completely risk-free options, and yet you're all of a sudden on eight. Is that kind of the more of the type of aggression?
[Laura Delany]
Yeah, that is it. And look, in some games it's going to come off, and in other games it won't. But I suppose we have to keep backing ourselves to trust in the style of cricket that we're going to play. I think if everyone comes off in the day, we're going to be quite a formidable side, and it's going to be tough to beat us. And we showed that during the warm-up game during Australia, and we have found it hard at times throughout this tournament to put in complete performances. But we are heading in the right direction, and there's definitely areas that we need to work on, particularly in the field, and that's been highlighted in pretty much every game. I thought today we took some really good catches, but then again, we let some catches go. And when you play against some of the best sides in the world, they're going to give you one or two opportunities. And if you don't take it, they're just going to change the game.
[Reporter]
So, Laura, just on the fielding aspect that you've just raised there, what sort of things do you do going forward to manage that? And was it an element of nerves, or is it something skill-wise?
[Laura Delany]
I think we definitely need to put ourselves under more pressure at training. Training under lights, not that we can use that as an excuse, isn't something that we're too familiar with. But we definitely did it out in the qualifiers in September, and we adapted quite quickly. But it is something that we need to look at. And yet again, just putting ourselves under as much pressure as possible when we're at training. I think when we play Super Series, which is our domestic league, we're probably not put under too much pressure. And it's only when you go into these games that you really have to think as a bowler, or as a fielder, the ball's hit much harder, and an opportunity goes up and you have to take it.
[Reporter]
What are the things that you'll take away from this tournament, the biggest things?
[Laura Delany]
I think the girls playing with confidence and freedom. I think if you look at the way Orla and Amy, when she came off, and Gaby. they've just played with so much freedom. And when they get going, they can completely change the game. And I think Orla showed that when she batted against the West Indies. And if we can get everyone in line with that, and to buy into that as a team, a lot of trust and confidence will come from that. And I don't want to refer to it again, but that game against Australia, we played with so much freedom and confidence. And I think that showed us as a team what we are capable of, particularly when we perform with both disciplines, with the bat and in the field. But it's now trying to chase that performance. We performed well in certain aspects, but we may not have backed it up with the ball, and then in the field. So yeah, we're chasing that all-around performance.
[Reporter]
India are quite a well-resourced side, and they're about to get more resourced. And most of the teams you played in this tournament are also quite well-resourced. Can you sort of paint a picture of the contrast between that and your experience back home?
[Laura Delany]
Yeah, well, I suppose going back to the 2018 World Cup, I was pretty honest about the fact that I didn't think that we were on a level playing field. We were the only team that were not on professional contracts. And as of March, last year, Cricket Ireland brought in full-time contracts. And those contracts, they're available for all players. It depends on whether you're in college, whether or not you take the full contract. But I think things are definitely heading in the right direction. I suppose funding-wise, we can't compete with some of the top sides like Australia, England and India. But things are definitely heading in the right direction, and Cricket Ireland have invested hugely in us as a squad. And I think that's definitely shown over the last 12 months and at times in our performances here.
[Reporter]
Can you just give an idea of how daunting it is coming from that background against these well-resourced sides? And how do you approach that?
[Laura Delany]
Yeah, look, it's something that we know in the onset, I think, when we go out to sing our anthem and we look over at our management and we have less than 10 or 10 or 11 and you look to the opposition and there is a whole other side made up of support staff. It's quite obvious to see that there is a difference, but it's not something that we focus on. We try and focus on what it is that we're trying to do. And we obviously have great coaches in place, Ad, Glen and particularly Nathan coming in and working with the spinners. They've definitely grown in confidence. So, what we're trying to do is focus on what we can control.
[Reporter]
I just wanted to ask about your plans against Shefali Verma and Harmanpreet - because these two particular batters, you had them on back foot and their innings, their knocks were a bit scratchy. So, can you talk to us about the particular plan against them, Shefali and Harman?
[Laura Delany]
Yeah, I suppose our plan early doors was to build back of the length, build stump to stump and let the wicket do the rest. There was a little bit in that wicket and we knew that if we could build back of the length, they'd have to try and create something, which at times they definitely did. We took our opportunities when they were there, but I suppose Smriti -she batted really well and took the game on when she needed to clear the rope. And that's one area that we can definitely learn from. We are trying to work hard in our power hitting and it was definitely different out there for us in the batting innings because it was such a strong wind, but yeah, they both batted pretty well.
[Reporter]
Four catches were dropped off Smriti Mandhana, do you think that was a missed opportunity early on?
[Laura Delany]
Yes, you can't drop catches against the best teams in the world. You went on to win player of the match. You just can't do it. You have to take your opportunities.
[Reporter]
I just wanted to ask in the coming cycle, coming women's FTP cycle, you're playing against England, you're playing against West Indies and Australia and India over the next three, four years. How important is these international fixtures for Ireland in order to get to that level, even though there are other factors that are there, but how important is this international fixture for you?
[Laura Delany]
Yeah, I think it's hugely important for us to play against the best sides in the world because that's when you learn. And I think quite often when you go away to a World Cup, that's when you're put under the pump and you have to learn out there and then you go back home and you may not have fixtures for five or six months and making it into the ICC Championship was huge for us as a team, but also for Irish cricket going forward, we're now guaranteed a certain amount of fixtures against some of the best sides and that series against West Indies in the summer and then Australia at home are two series that we're really looking forward to. And now being on professional contract, we're in a position when we get back home, we have a bit of time left, but we can start preparing for that. So yeah, look, we had a series against Australia and Pakistan at home during the summer. We found it tough going, we went out to Pakistan, we found the ODI series tough going, but we adjusted quite quickly and we won the T20 series. But you can only find that success when you play tough games and you go through it and to have more fixtures is one thing that we're delighted with.
[Reporter]
Just staying with the Orla there, we know how Kim's career panned out and her having gotten the inlet through Cricket Australia. Is there anything that you think from your own experience or the way the Kim Gard story panned out that can be applied to an Orla Prendergast at the juncture of her career? She is to ensure that here is a potentially, you know, all-time great all-rounder in the making, what can cricket do to ensure she gets the kind of opportunities through Cricket Ireland and through World Cricket?
[Laura Delany]
Well, firstly, I hope people are taking note all around the world of how she's performed. You know, with the WIPL, she was obviously unavailable for that, but with other franchise cricket, she's shown that she can compete with the best and it's up to franchises to also make sure that they don't just stick with the top nations. I think Kim Gard was slightly different. She was very sad on becoming a professional cricketer and at that stage in Ireland, we didn't have access to that and it didn't look like it was something that was on the horizon. And fair play to Kim, she made her way in Australia and now she's in a very successful side and has worked really hard to get there. I think with Orla, you know, she's getting better and better with each performance. She adapts quite quickly and she learns very quickly. But yeah, I just hope franchise cricket take note of her performances, likewise with Gabby because they have so much potential for such young players. But I just hope the Irish here doesn't hold them back when it comes to franchise cricket.
[Reporter]
Obviously a bit disappointed with some of the results, but I was just thinking as a group of players and from your own perspective as skipper, the more experienced players and the newer players that came into the squad, you must be pleased with how they've gelled together in such a competitive pool.
[Laura Delany]
Yeah, look, obviously disappointed with that West Indies game. I thought we got ourselves into a position where we could win, which is disappointing that we didn't get across the line. But I think from a team point of view, yeah, look, I think things are definitely heading in the right direction. I know I'm probably repeating myself, but when you look at certain individuals and how they performed and that confidence can nearly be infectious and contagious. And it's now just a matter of having more games, more fixtures to put that into practice.
[Reporter]
And finally, just from me, you came very close to beating England. Great performance there. Would you like to play England more? I mean, they more or less play as we do our summers here on similar conditions. So that would be ideal playing against them on a regular basis, I would suggest.
[Laura Delany]
Absolutely. We would welcome any of the top teams over to Ireland.