Green: White Ferns put Australia defeat behind them in search of Sri Lanka victory

Media release

New Zealand’s Maddy Green insisted her side have already moved on from defeat against Australia as they target a crucial victory over Sri Lanka.

The White Ferns fell to a 60-run loss to their neighbours on Tuesday, meaning a win over Sri Lanka is likely a must if they are to progress from Group A.

The Lions are already eliminated after losing all three of their matches so far, but Green knows New Zealand would be unwise to underestimate their opponents when they meet in Sharjah on Saturday.

She said: “We know it's a really crucial game for us in this pool, so we're really looking forward to it.

“Sri Lanka are a really dangerous side, so I think it's going to be a really good contest.

“In tournament play, you've got to take it one game at a time and move on pretty quickly, win or lose, and that's sort of something we've talked about as a group; being really focused on each and every game as they come.

“It's about trying to make sure we execute what we're trying to do as well, not trying to overcomplicate it. These are difficult conditions to bat in, and the heat as well, so it's about executing your skills under that sort of strain as well.

“I think our planning and everything has been excellent, and it just comes down to execution and we weren't able to do that against Australia. I thought they bowled and batted particularly well in both powerplays and that sort of took the game away from us.

“It's about going back to what we've been working on back home, trying to execute that as well as we can under pressure against a good side.

“We're one from two in a really tough pool so I think we're in a really good position and we're looking forward to the next two games.”

Sri Lanka do not have progression to worry about after defeat to India on Wednesday confirmed their group-stage exit.

But captain Chamari Athapaththu revealed that her side is determined to finish their tournament on a high level with a strong performance against New Zealand.

“The main thing is how we face these kinds of things and how we bounce back,” she said.
“I talk about more positive things, especially I think we need to improve our batting a little bit. I have a few young batters in my batting lineup

“We need to give them positive advice and we have to lift them up so I always talk with them, hopefully they will play their best cricket in the next game.

“We have to finish this tournament on a high. The overall expectation in Sri Lanka and the team expectation is very high, but this [elimination] has happened. We focus on the next game.

“The head coach and the support staff always talk about positive things in the dressing room every time.

“We focus on what we can do, how we can bounce back and what we have learned from the last three games and what are the areas we have to improve on.

“We talked about these things before we came here today. I hope we can do something next game.

“The main thing is a positive approach it is important because we have nothing to lose. We have one game. I hope they will play their best cricket tomorrow.”

ENDS