7 March - Tauranga - Australia player Beth Mooney pre-match press conference
Reporter: First of all to kind of look back potentially at the first game - I know you guys probably didn't want to finish as close as it was, but was it almost good to kind of gauge where you guys are at the moment playing under that pressure of playing the last over thriller and getting a gauge of how you guys are playing sort of as you go through the tournament?
Beth: Yeah, I think those games in any tournament play are invaluable. They expose different players to different situations, don't they, and put lots of pressure on whether it's perceived or not. We can't replicate that at training for obvious reasons. So yeah, whilst we thought 311 was a good score, we also knew that we probably had the worst of the batting conditions early and had to really work for that total. We also knew that the lights coming on the ball was probably going to get on and perhaps make it a little bit easier for the England batters which they've done exceptionally well - I think Nat Sciver was outstanding, so to get as close as they did, wasn't really a huge surprise to us given how the conditions have probably changed pretty drastically - whether you bat or ball - first over here especially in the night games, so yeah, always good in tournament play to have those games and, and hopefully we take a lot out of that moving forward.
Reporter: And just quickly – this Bay Oval surface will be the third time the same surface has been used. Has there been much discussion about that and maybe look into yesterday's game - there were host spinners you bowled - Do you think there's much of a change from what your plans might be?
Beth: A little bit slightly - Yeah, I think we obviously had the opportunity to play over here last year in a similar time and we had three one days at The Oval here and played on the same wicket all three times. And when we got to the third game, it had slowed up quite a lot. So using that intel that we had from last year when we played will become really handy for us as a batting unit and a bowling unit so we expect that Pakistan's bowlers - their spinners especially bowl quite differently to ours in terms of pace through the air. So we had a session today, specifically on that as a top six and hopefully we can use that to our advantage tomorrow.
Reporter: And just on that starting performance - how much confidence does it give the betting group that you can go up and score over 300 on a tricky wicket like that?
Beth: Yeah, actually I think Rach and Meg were outstanding, and they've been outstanding for this group for a long period of time and to do that in that situation was really impressive. I think we were only 101 off the first 25 overs. So to get 210 off the last 25 was pretty remarkable and you know we spoke at length coming into this tournament that perhaps we that hadn't fired as well as we would have liked in the last couple of years and to make that kind of statement early in this tournament was really impressive. And hopefully it's a sign of what's to come for this batting unit.
Reporter: And just on Rach Haynes - Obviously you've played a lot of cricket alongside her. How important is it for the group to see your vice-captain come out and score a big 100 in the opening match of the World Cup?
Beth: Yeah. Incredible. I think she's a really well liked member of that team. And you know, we enjoy each other's success and right she's no different, I think, is a really impressive innings, especially when you still look at the first 40 balls and she really had to work hard for those runs. But we've spoken as a group about perhaps we've got to find a different way around the course at times especially if we do bat first and get the worst of the conditions if it's a fresh wicket. So it was really nice to see a lot of the things that we talked about come to fruition in the middle and that doesn't happen unless you build the skill set, which Rach obviously does, and Meg does as well. So hopefully they can continue what they're doing.
Reporter: You guys haven’t played Pakistan since 2018 - I think. For you personally how do you go about preparing for playing them – do you look at videos or do you rely on what Sunny has to give?
Beth: Um, I honestly don't really look too much at Sunny, or what Sunny does. There's a lot happening on that spreadsheet so I tend to get a little bit confused. We watched a little bit of the game yesterday just to see what they were doing in terms of the bowlers and the - our bowling unit watched a little bit of their batting as well. So I think it's almost a blessing in disguise at times when we come up against an unknown opponent of sorts and obviously we played them a few years ago now. So what's very different about that group, I thought they were outstanding with the ball yesterday and outstanding with the bat against India. So yeah, it's a different kind of challenge. But I think what we probably have focused on a little bit more in the last few months is worrying about what we can control and how we want to go about our game. So hopefully we can do that again tomorrow and adjust where we have to and adapt where we can.
Reporter: Can you talk about the drills earlier –
Beth: Yeah, so obviously their pace bowlers bowl that sort of 100 - 105 K's now with a bit of swing and that's you know, it's hard to replicate with the sidearm, so I was pretty happy when Moi [inaudible 06:28] put that in his backpack today - so I wasn't going to get whacked again. But no - I think just things like that - slowing it down. You know, they bowls well seam up, arm bowlers are the best spinners as well. So working out exactly how we're going to set ourselves up when that happens. And you know, the beauty of our batting lineup is we're all quite different in where we hit the ball and access the areas. So it was really nice just to do something a little bit different and make it quite tailored to what we're going to come up against tomorrow.
Reporter: Can I ask - you said that you were impressed with the Pakistan bowling efforts - what impressed you or who impressed you?
Beth: Yeah, obviously their spinners did an outstanding job through that middle period when Deepti Sharma and Smriti Mandhana had that large partnership - they broke that with their spinners through the middle and looked like they had this squeeze on quite nicely to India. And so that's something that we pride ourselves on as a batting group is making sure we’re always moving the game forward and accessing different areas of the ground obviously to get the fields that we want. So just seeing a little bit of that in the game yesterday, will be really important for us heading into tomorrow.
Reporter: I know that you're not the captain or coach but is everyone fits and well - no one's failed a COVID test. You can go out there and get in the same women if you want to?
Beth: Not that I'm aware of - I don't sit in those meetings, obviously. But I assume everyone was at training today. So everyone’s available for selection tomorrow.
Reporter: Obviously you haven't played Pakistan very much, but I just wondered if you've had the opportunity to sit down and have a chat to any of their players at any stage because obviously, coming from a sort of fairly traditional Muslim country they have a very different journey to what you guys have had I just wonder if you were able to pick up anything about their journey of any of your opponents?
Beth: Now we haven't crossed paths with Pakistan since we've been in New Zealand obviously - they've been here for a few more days than we have. I think that's the great thing about these tournaments is you get to play against different players from around the world and like you said - they have different journeys to get here. So hopefully we can have a few yarns with them along the way and make sure that we're learning as much as we can as we go and offering as much advice as we can. But first and foremost, we're here to play cricket as well. So we've got an important job to do tomorrow and making sure we're ready to go for that as well.
Reporter: And given your collectively - Australia's record against Pakistan, do you feel this is a real opportunity to make a statement?
Beth: Yes or No, I think every game in this World Cup you've got an opportunity to make a statement I think – a tournament play is so different to a bilateral series or a multi format series. So every chance we get to go out there and take on whatever opposition it's an opportunity in itself - to challenge ourselves and make sure we're firing at the right times. Obviously there's a long way to go on this tournament again and we’re only at number two. So we've got to make sure we're managing ourselves really nicely about still adapting where we can and, you know, not giving too much away so to speak, but making sure we're doing all the right things.
Reporter: Obviously Tomorrow's the International Women's Day and we've got the news that’s showing that you know, Women’s sport is on the rise, which is of course awesome to see. I mean, how does that make you feel particularly, you know, in your role as a role model, especially for those younger players coming into the sport?
Beth: Yeah, I think it's been an amazing couple of years. Not just in Australia, but around the world for the sport, not just women's sport. I think it's come a long way. It's a really real shame over here that we can't get the crowds that we would probably want for obvious reasons but at the same time, there's so much opportunity for young girls and boys to just see what's out there.
For Cricket - obviously with the platform that we've got in social media and globally, the ICC are doing a great job getting the games out there and recognizing the importance of offering that opportunity to everyone to watch. So yeah, it's massive I think - there's a lot of sport happening around the world at the moment and we're just really excited to be a part of it. As I said, offering an opportunity for people to learn and watch and hopefully pick up the bat and ball.
Reporter: Here in Australia, the cricket world is certainly still mourning the death of Shane Warne - how did the team react to the news over the weekend, and do you have any tributes or commemorations, plans during the World Cup or do you think it'll be something that will kind of linger in the back of your mind during your games in New Zealand?
Beth: Yeah, I think obviously, it's been a very sad time in Australian cricket in the last week or so. And you know, our thoughts are with the families of Rod and Shane and the friends involved as well. So yeah, it's a difficult time for sure. I think a lot of girls deal with things in different ways. And you know, some of us talk about it. Some of us don't talk about it. I think it by no means does it - not have an impact on what's happening over here, but we sort of look at it like an opportunity to put a smile on people's faces and, you know, bring some joy to Australian Cricket in a pretty dark time.
Reporter: You mentioned it a couple of times on the way through - you were speaking about tournament play as opposed to a bilateral series with the game and the finish to the game against England that you had the other night – is it good to get result like that out of the way early instead of just being perfect right at the start.
Beth: Yeah, I think so. I think as I just said, I think a big tournament play - especially a one day World Cup is a really long tournament. I think we've still got four weeks or something until or - three and a half weeks till the semis and the final. So you've got to make sure you're peaking at the right time as well as making sure your players are finding form at the right time as well.
Obviously, one of the big things that I like to think about especially coming from playing a lot of WBBL cricket is that people really don't remember how you start, but how you finish. And you know that's the sort of mindset that I come into tournament play with - you've got to make sure you're peaking at the right time. And, you know, you can slip up here and there and have some tight games here and there at the start, but if you're not - you haven't quite nailed it towards the back end, then it's not quite worth those games at the start really is it - so we're going to make sure we're firing at the right times, and I think we've played a lot of cricket this year and we've got some batters and bowlers in some great forms. So hopefully we can hang on to that for three or four more weeks.
Reporter: Thanks.