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ICC WOMEN'S WORLD T20

February 29, 2020

Leigh Kasperek

Melbourne, New South Wales

New Zealand - 91 (18.2), Bangladesh - 74 (19.5)

Q. Obviously a good performance there at the end. They made you work hard for it. Were you caught a little bit by surprise early on?
LEIGH KASPEREK: I don't think we were really caught by surprise. I think we know how good they are with the ball, especially those spinners and they tied us down really well on that wicket. So I don't think our batting performance was as good as we'd like it to be, but credit to them. They bowled really well.

Q. You've had another game where you obviously had some issues in the field, and now one where you haven't put it together with the bat. Is it a case of putting it all together because obviously now you're essentially in a quarterfinal shootout with Australia?
LEIGH KASPEREK: Yeah, I think so. When you're playing a quality side like Australia you have to bring your A game and all facets of it. Yeah, that's something we're looking to do on Monday.

Q. What was the particular challenge with the surface?
LEIGH KASPEREK: It's pretty slow and low. Took a turn. I don't think that it surprised us. I think we saw that when we played the other day. But I just don't think we adapted quickly enough to it.

Q. It looked like it had a lot more grass on it than it certainly normally here. Did it surprise you the way that it played or not?
LEIGH KASPEREK: No, not really. I think the grass covering was just trying to keep the wicket intact. It can often do that; if it's cracking they just try and put grass on it to hold it together. But we had a chat about that and I don't think it surprised us, no.

Q. Sophie said in the post match that you guys learned a lot by the way that Bangladesh bowled in terms of their length and launch. What did you take away?
LEIGH KASPEREK: Pretty much just hit the wickets. And I think we went out there and tried to keep it as simple as possible. Yeah, you're right, we did learn a lot from them. And the other game as well when we played India and they bowled really well as well.

Q. The New Zealand batters struggled against both India and now Bangladesh. Is it a huge cause of concern for you heading into a virtual knockout?
LEIGH KASPEREK: No, I don't think so. I think they're probably a little bit disappointed in how they've gone. But when we've been training, they've been hitting it really well. And we've got really lucky; we have No. 1 and No. 2 in the world at the moment. And the very fact that even today and against Sri Lanka we got over the line when it didn't go great in the game. But our people have been stepping up in the middle overs. And you want your big players to step up in big games, so hopefully they can do that on Monday.

Q. What were the words from captain Sophie Devine during the innings break given she said that she took quite a few lessons, the N.Z. attack took quite a few lessons from Bangladesh's seamers?
LEIGH KASPEREK: Yeah, it was all just about bowling full and straight, just for spin and seam. And I thought especially Hayley and Sophie did that really well, from bowling into the wind, so credit to them. But I think when you're only defending a small total you've got to, you almost have to switch on more than you ever would and you've just got to really get stuck in try to do anything you can to defend it.

Q. Sophie said the coach was very calm. What was his instructions?
LEIGH KASPEREK: Yeah, I was very surprise she was very calm. You could see him kind of doubling a little bit. But I think we were still confident that we could defend it and we tried to get them above six and over. And I think once we kind of did that then we kind of maybe relaxed a little bit because we were a bit -- I was a bit stressed early on. But I think we kind of -- we had a plan and we stuck to it really well.

Q. Obviously come into this tournament with a new head coach, new captain. Has anything in just the team environment felt different? Has the training methods been different, you feel a different vibe, energy in the dressing room?
LEIGH KASPEREK: Yeah, I think it's been awesome having, almost kind of refreshing and starting again. And he's quite different to the previous coach. He's a lot more vocal. Lets us know what he's thinking. But that's really great. He's kind of provided a lot of clarity, and that's kind of what we were after. And Sophie and him complement each other very well. But they're also both very calm and they trust you. As a bowler that means a lot so that's really cool.

Q. Considering New Zealand's performance the last ICC tournament since 2016, been looking good. And then somehow stumbling. Do you think that change in leadership is likely to cause a change in results?
LEIGH KASPEREK: I think the leaders in the previous World Cup's, we had Suzie in 2016 and Amy in the last one, I think they were exceptional. I think Sophie is great too. I'm not sure that it was the leadership that was why we didn't win. But I think Sophie in the forefront, we've got as good a chance as we did in the other ones as well but step up with bat and ball and take catches.

Q. What do you think is going to be the key knocking over Australia on Monday and do you think the pressure is more on them being the home team?
LEIGH KASPEREK: Yeah, I guess so. The pressure is kind of on both teams. It's whoever wins goes through pretty much. So I think the key is, like we touched on, is just trying to do all three elements of the game really well. And I think if we do that then we'll be in a good position.

Q. After India, Katey Martin was already talking about the quarterfinal against Australia. Do you think the rest of the team got ahead of themselves today and underestimated Bangladesh?
LEIGH KASPEREK: No, I don't think so. I think Katey Martin just sometimes gets excited. If you know her, that's not a surprise. But I think we very much were focused on Bangladesh. As soon as we lost India, Bob even mentioned, okay, let's flush that one down the drain; let's just focus on Bangladesh. All the training and lead-up yesterday was totally focusing on them. I don't think we got ahead of ourselves.

Q. I think it's been a couple years now since you've beaten Australia in any format. What do you think the team needs to do to get it over them?
LEIGH KASPEREK: I think we got pretty close in a lot of games. I think it's just that confidence thing. And probably just a big player stepping up, especially with the bat. If we can try and do that, then a lot of them have -- we're really lucky in the fact that we've had a lot of girls go over play Big Bash and be successful. I think that will actually hold us in good step playing against Australia now.

Q. Am I correct in saying you have no left-armers and no left-handers in the squad; is that right?
LEIGH KASPEREK: Yes, that's true.

Q. How have you prepared for -- you had the left arm spinner and left-handers against India. Have to fight that again against Australia. How do you prepare for that, that you haven't got it in the training environment?
LEIGH KASPEREK: Well, a couple of us like to dabble in a little bit of left-arm. But when we've had trainings as well we've tried to get net bowlers coming and we've got coaches coming around the wicket, trying to, like, what's the word I'm looking for, replicate the left- and leg spinners as much as possible.

Q. Is it a challenge, though?
LEIGH KASPEREK: Is it a challenge?

Q. In not having the practise against those two facets? Or the quality practise, I should say.
LEIGH KASPEREK: It's something in New Zealand that we just generally don't have a lot of. So, yeah, it is different. But again, I think we've played enough cricket that we should be able to adapt to that.

Q. Amelia Kerr, she was great in the last game, although you couldn't put up the chase. How have you, as a senior, as the spin spearhead of sorts, how have you seen Amelia grow with the changes that perhaps have stuck in your brain she's made to her technique or whether it be with bowling or batting?
LEIGH KASPEREK: Yeah, I know it's pretty cool. When I actually first moved out to New Zealand I lived with Milly and her family when she was about 12. And she came and bowled and would still get me out then. So just seeing her rise with both bat and ball has just been unbelievable. And she's a great kid as well. She's awesome to have around.

Q. Can you elaborate on "the great kid" aspect of your answer?
LEIGH KASPEREK: Oh, she's just like always asking how you are, she's just really friendly, really helpful. Loves to sing and loves to dance. She's awesome. She's great. Like her whole family are wonderful, like Jess is the sweetest girl as well. Credit to their folks for that.

Q. You did mention holding on to your catches. Overall, not just New Zealand, there have been a lot of dropped catches from teams in this World Cup. Normally pretty good in the field, how have you seen the standard of fielding in comparison to where you think teams normally are, and do you have an explanation for it?
LEIGH KASPEREK: I don't know if I have an explanation. I think potentially it could be pressures of World Cup. You see that ball go up and it can win or cost you a game. Like it has been something that's happened throughout the World Cup. I'm not sure why it is; but you're right, if teams can hold on to them, then they're probably going to win the game, like catches or matches are sealed, saying it's true.

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