Bates banks on experience, form going into knockouts
There is an inevitability about New Zealand victories even though they don't come with the calm and cold precision of an Australian team led by Steve Waugh. It is hard to believe that this is the New Zealand team that, like its male counterpart, has been a perennial bridesmaid at world tournaments. What then, has changed for them?
“I don't think there's any real secret (to our recent success),” said Bates, New Zealand’s captain, while addressing the media. “I think we are just really confident with the players that we've got and we've had everyone contributing throughout the tournament, which is great. The bowling line-up is very balanced and the batters are really experienced and in very good form.”
Despite coming into the ICC Women's World T20 2016 on a high after beating Australia Women at home, Bates’s side lost both its warm-up games in Chennai against England Women. To pick itself up after that and win all four league games seemed like quite a turnaround, but the captain didn’t think so.
“With warm-up games it's always difficult because we did try a few things and it was more about giving everyone opportunities,” she said. “We knew that we weren't necessarily putting forward our World Cup plans, but those games were really close and I think we were able to learn from those losses.”
Whomever it faces in the semifinals, New Zealand will certainly go in as the favourite, based on current form and with the lessons it has learnt from previous failed campaigns. “We've got a lot of experience being in final situations and that's going to hold us in good stead moving forward,” said Devine, New Zealand’s Player of the Match against South Africa. “Most of our team have experienced being in a final, whether it is on a world stage or domestically. Also, the form that we are in, we know that if we can perform to the best of our ability we are going to be a really hard side to beat. We have earned the right to play the next game, but nothing further. So we need to turn up again against whomever we play and give it our all.”
From the very start of the tournament, both captain and coach have made it clear that they want to take the tournament one day at a time, a lesson they probably learnt from their loss to South Africa that knocked them out of the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh.
Having buried those ghosts, New Zealand can finally look to the semifinal, but as Devine mentioned, they can look no farther and Bates too is of the same belief. “Semifinal and finals cricket is a totally different story and it doesn't really matter what we have done leading up to that next game,” said the captain. “We are just going to make sure that we keep our feet on the ground because in semifinal cricket anything can happen and we don't know who we are playing.”
With the laughter, enjoyment and confidence carrying it forward, New Zealand is most definitely the team to beat this ICC Women's World T20, but it is unlikely to buy that. If anything, they may just laugh at the thought!