5 March - Hamilton - Australia player Rachael Haynes post-match press conference

Rachael: We had a lot to do with him - as far as I'm aware I'm not sure if individuals have in this side - obviously some of our staff knew Rod Marsh quite well, too so yeah obviously you know there's people processing grief and those sorts of things at the moment so yeah, certainly a challenging 48 hours leading in.

Reporter: Alana King has a match turning display in the middle there Victorian Leggy our there - tell us a bit about how you saw her performance?

Rachael: Yeah, I thought she turned the game for us - her delivery to dismiss Tammy Beaumont, yeah was just exceptional leg spin bowling and just I guess got some momentum back for our side and her ability to take wickets throughout the innings, particularly when the wickets are flattening out a little bit. I think it's going to be really crucial for us throughout the tournament

Reporter: In the final over after, she'd only bowled for two - what was the thinking there and was she putting a hand up for it?

Rachael: Yeah, she wanted to bowl - definitely. Yeah, we wanted to use the same to take the game as deep as we could obviously - yeah, it was – Nat Sciver was batting exceptionally well and really dangerous. So we just wanted to I guess use Tahlia McGrath and Megan Schutt to take the game deep and the thing about Jess Jonassen is she's been, you know, a real crutch player for us in the past and really stepped into those moments in years gone by - so when we're talking about it, she was actually already walking to the bowler then to take the ball - so I think it was going to be pretty hard to get that over away from her.

Reporter: Hey, Rach congrats on the performance today. I guess first up looking at that bowling innings. You're right when you say that Nat was quite incredible, but it's a few times now. We've seen the Aussie girls kind of struggle or fail to get the momentum back when an opposition batter gets on a roll. What do you think is the key to kind of combating that and stopping their star players from other teams kind of almost taking the game away from you?

Rachael: Yeah, look, I think, you know, a couple of things stand out to me today. I think early we just were bowling too lengths - to fall too short and that enabled them to get some good momentum. We missed a couple of catches in the field as well. We probably could have Tammy out early, and the back end then with Nat- so I think in this format, in these conditions, taking those opportunities is going to be really important and that's not just our side. That's - that's all sides, and the game plays out completely differently. So yeah, look, we've got a couple of things that we need to tidy up on heading into our next game. But yeah, as I said, By the same token, it's really nice to get that first win away and we can build from there.

Reporter: And apologies if you've answered this earlier, I think we had a bit of an audio issue at the start on the Zoom end of things. But in terms of Shane and his passing overnight, where were the squad when you guys found out - I imagine obviously it was very early in the morning in New Zealand. So how did you guys find out this morning and what was sort of said about it before the game?

Rachael: Yeah, we woke up to the news - it was obviously really shocking. We'd known obviously that Rod Marsh had passed away and yeah like to wake up this morning and hear that a legend of the game Shane Warne had passed away. It was just a shock within the group and you know, Alyssa Healy and I were chatting before the game and just sitting in the changing room and saying, obviously life is really fragile. And we think a tournament like this is pretty significant. But yeah, probably just reinforced to us the ability to go out there and actually enjoy today and enjoy the game because, yeah, it's just obviously really sad that things can be taken away so quickly from you.

Reporter: My question is, this is your first century after being a mother, how do you think how important this is back home for Hugo and for you? This is your first match of the World Cup. You were the highest run scorer for Australia in the 2013 World Cup and how big it is for you personally?

Rachael: Yeah, as I said, it's always nice to score runs. I think Hugo have absolutely no idea what's going on. But hopefully he's asleep at the moment. But yeah, it's funny coming into this game I was probably a little bit light on runs. I didn't feel out of nick but was just getting out early. So yeah, it's really nice to make a contribution today. I think our top four is going to play a really big role in this tournament and our ability to go and score big hundreds is going to be really important, as I said, particularly on flatter wickets.

Reporter: Fifth March and Australian team what is that relation? Last time you played a test match – it was the rain affected Sydney semifinal against South Africa and today the two close matches and Jess Jonassen delivered final over in both of those matches. So what is it - Australia and large matches on Fifth of March?

Rachael: Well, there was less rain around today which was nice. Yeah, I'm not sure- I think in tournament play it is good to have those tight contests and be pushed. England certainly did that today and to walk away with the win is obviously a really positive start to our campaign. Our goal is obviously to be a part of the business end and play in finals and those sorts of things. So yeah, I'm not sure if it's all related to the fifth of March but all the same, it's nice to get that first win away.

Reporter: Well played and congrats on the win. Can you just talk about the pitch and conditions at the start of the game and if you could briefly touch upon the areas you have worked on to enhance your game?

Rachael: Yeah, I found it really tricky early. I think it was just sort of slow coming through and England got a little bit of swing early so it was just really hard to drive on that wicket and I thought they were really disciplined with their lines. They bowled nice and tight at the stumps and didn't give too much away. So it was just tough. It was tough to get going. And yeah, if I had my time again, I probably would have been a little bit more proactive earlier on but obviously with Amy Jones up at the stumps, too. It was hard to come out of the crease and those sorts of things. So yeah, I guess there's good lessons in that in terms of just being able to stick with it when you're maybe not feeling great.

And yeah, as I said was just really nice to get through and go on and make a big score.

Reporter: Thanks and good luck with the next.