25 March - Wellington - Bangladesh Captain Nigar Sultana post-match press conference
Reporter: Your feelings on how proud are you of the performance today in pushing Australia to a tough position and then you know, seeing them respond, just how proud and just some of your feelings at the end of the match?
Nigar Sultana: Yeah, obviously I think the bowlers have done wonderfully well today and how they bowl actually it was wonderful. And obviously it was great to be able to give Australia some tough time in the middle. So we tried to move the game as long as we can. And obviously Salma bowled brilliant today.
Reporter: Just to follow up, was that like the discussion before the match? I mean, if you were you know at one stage on DLS score just one run behind where Australia had to be and there was a catch that Annabel Sutherland offered - so it could have easily gone your way if a couple of things that had gone, so was that the discussion to go for the win before the match? How was the mood in the camp?
Nigar: Yeah, I was just talking to the girls that if we could get the wicket, so the DLS is going up. And obviously we are trying to get the wickets because we got the early four wickets. So after that, I think they built up a partnership. But it's still I think how the girls fought in the end - it was brilliant !
Reporter: My first question was you are youngest captain at this World Cup but your leadership has stood out throughout and today there were a couple of significant milestones that people from your team have achieved. Pinky became the first Bangladeshi batter to score 1000 runs in ODIs and Rumana Ahmed is the first Bangladeshi bowler to take 50 ODI wickets, so just wanted to get your thoughts on these two players and their contribution to Bangladeshi cricket over the years.
Nigar: Obviously are proud to have them in the team and they played for Bangladesh for a long time. And I guess, long way to go and I'm always proud of like Farzana, how she batted through that tournament, It was brilliant and how she actually performed for the team, every time – now obviously Rumana Ahmed, she's a brilliant all-rounder that we have, our team and I think we have more opportunities to get all this kind of milestone, so I'm hoping they will get like 1.000 runs more for Farzana Haque and 50 more wickets for Rumana Ahmed.
Reporter: Before the tournament started you said that there's a question about how Bangladesh hae always punched above their weight. Do you think the performances that you have given in this tournament, some of them have been closer but not – there were very close performances from your side - do you think that this is something your team and yourself and management will be extremely proud of?
Nigar: Obviously, I think you can see how we actually fought in a lot of matches. It was too close against the West Indies and how we started the tournament against South Africa. It was like too close for us. Maybe we could play better here. But somehow our batting unit actually collapsed. If our bowlers had done well - at least if the batters could support them maybe we could win two - three more matches here. But still we have a one match to go so I'm looking forward to bounce back as a batting and bowling unit.
Reporter: What about the conditions – have you ever experienced anything like that. And what was it like for you and the team? Particularly with the wind?
Nigar: Yeah, it was difficult because for the first time we played in these kinds of conditions - it was too cold and windy. In Bangladesh, it is cold but we do not have wind like here. Still, we have to play, we are a professional team, but it was difficult to - I think in the first inninsg it was very difficult for the batters to stand on the pitch. It was too windy - just because of, and for the bowlers they somehow like the seamers faced some difficulties to bowl, but still we managed and finished the game.
Reporter: Hi Jyoti, Congratulations to you for such a good fight with a small score against a team like Australia whose batting is very strong but your batting was the same old story. Failed again in batting. Although the conditions were very tough today, the batting was not very good in the previous matches. I mean, why is this happening again and again? Your own performance or Rumana's on which the team depends. Why is this failure coming again and again in batting?
Nigar: I think those of us who are performing can not consistently contribute to the team. That's one reason. For example, Pinky scored very well in the beginning, but could not contribute in the last two matches. I can't do it or I can't continue even if I start. I think that's the lack of consistency and we should actually work on it. Maybe we'll have more time to work on them. But still, I think if the top order batters could contribute a little more then the matches that have been so close for the team would have been better. So I think in the future it's a matter of thinking about why we can't. I think if we want to change this, we just have to play more and more international matches. We have practised enough. We have played a lot of matches among us, so now the more we play international matches I think the more batters will learn. In these conditions, how to bat in these situations, how to control the game, how to play shorts more patiently, how to pace on, pace off in the innings. So I think that the more international matches we will play the more we'll learn.
Reporter: Even then the match could have been closer if Ritu Moni could have taken the catch. Is there a little regret for that or seems to be the turning point, if Ritu Moni could have got Sutherland out?
Nigar: No, it's an absolutely unfortunate thing. You see, after the delivery of the ball, it actually becomes very difficult for the pacers in that place. But still, I think she actually tried. But it's a matter of luck. But if it would have been caught and bold then we could get another wicket then the match would be even closer.
Reporter: Jyoti, hard-luck once again. I mean, again it was close, not close, I mean although we fought well but lost. My question is are you happy with this fight or did you think that you can win the match at a certain stage of the game? Another thing is, you are saying every day that we are playing fewer matches, I mean, are we really playing fewer matches? Don't you think that your World Cup performance is a message to the world that we should be allowed to play more matches? Or it's a message to the BCB or to the ICC that we deserve to play more matches, or we need that.
Nigar: Of course. I think when we finished one part of our match with the bat before we went down to the field, our goal was to win the match. We have the capability because we have a good bowling unit. So, of course, when everyone is on the field, they are there to win. That's what we did. And the bowlers have tried, the fielders have shown some great performances today. And the fact is that this thing happens because of playing fewer matches. Often you will see that with the experienced team, it turns out that they move forward with the experience. We are not able to control the game in that situation. I think it's just for playing fewer matches. I think the more matches we play, the more mature we will be in these situations. And the cricket board is already planning with us, and of course, now that we are in the FTP of ICC, we will play a lot of bilateral series, away and at home. So, I think, if we get these opportunities, we will definitely be able to perform better as a team in the future.
Reporter: Jyoti, congratulations on today's match. You've fought enough against a team like Australia. I just wanted to know from you that since this is our first World Cup, we didn't really have much hope. Even then we defeated the Pakistan team. How satisfied are you with your performance or with the goal you set for the World Cup?
Nigar: Definitely not satisfied, because if we think based on our performance, we thought we would win 3-4 matches from here. And it was almost possible, we lost a lot of close matches. I would say it is for lack of experience. We could not be satisfied because it's not really a satisfying situation. We could have performed a little better as a team. Although we lost the matches, we could present a little better show. But still, I think we still have a long way to go. So as far as we can take positives from here, those who have done well, bowlers or individually we have a lot of good performances. If they can carry those things forward then I think this team will be in a much better place in the future.