13 February - Paarl - New Zealand Captain Sophie Devine post-match press conference
[Reporter]
Hard luck on the result today, so what was the mood when you were restricted to South Africa for that total, especially after taking early weekends, were you confident of the total on this particular surface?
[Sophie]
Yeah, I certainly thought there was a target that we could reach. Which obviously we'd have to bet well against their quality bowling line-up, but I certainly thought it was a target that we were capable of reaching. It's always difficult when you lose that many wickets in the power play and we've probably got ourselves a little bit stuck there, so, yeah, I'm not sure too many words can describe the disappointment, and I said it just before, the embarrassment. That's not good enough for an international cricket side and I take a lot of that as captain and how I lead this team and it's not good enough.
[Reporter]
Is there anything you could probably have done different after the early weekends to let the game drift away, especially in the first innings?
[Sophie]
Oh, I think you've got to be brave in positions like that. We spoke about it after the Australian game that we'd rather go down swinging than go back into our shells and we probably did that again tonight, which is disappointing. And we've got to find out why that's happening, because you can't do that, particularly at World Cups. So, there's some of the discussions that we're going to have to have, because I know we've got the skill, we work bloody hard as a team. It's not the effort, it's how we're putting it out there on the park, so, yeah, I mean, it's tough.
[Reporter]
Sophie, do you feel like the tournament is all reaching the semis is lost for you now or not lost hope?
[Sophie]
Honest answer, it's bloody tough to make it now. I think the way that our run rate's absolutely out the window is probably a sign of we're going to have to score about 8,000 runs and restrict Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to about 20. So, I mean, funnier things have happened, I guess. But look, we've put ourselves in this position and we've got to be honest with that, but that doesn't mean that those games aren't valuable to us and that's what we've got to hold ourselves to account with is we've got to play with real pride and every time we put on the New Zealand shirt, it means a lot to this group. So, yes, we're going to hurt a lot and that might take a couple of days, but certainly with this group, we've got to let it out and we've got to figure out why and have those discussions but then we've got to get ourselves up and semifinals are a very, very, very small chance of happening, but we've still got two really important games against two teams that we've seen can foot it with the best.
[Reporter]
You changed the batting line up at the top a little bit there. Was that tactical or did you have any injury problems?
[Sophie]
No, it's just a tactical change. I think looking at our line up and the balance of our squad, we thought a bit more depth through the middle of the order. Obviously, it didn't work today, did it, but look, I think those sort of things you've got to be flexible with and I think we've got the group here to be able to mix and match where we see fit. Obviously, we're still a long way off matching it with the best teams, but I think it's hopefully positive signs moving forward that we've got flexibility within our squad to change things per game.
[Reporter]
Did the WPL auction cause any kinds of distraction today or did you guys think about it?
[Sophie]
I think you're living under a rock, if you don't think. It wasn't a distraction. It was bizarre, to be honest. I think the timing of it, obviously not ideal, but it is what it is and it was. There was lots of discussions amongst our players about it, but again, we were really open with it, how we felt and I think that was, I don't know what the right or the wrong way was to handle it, but I certainly thought that as a group, we spoke about it openly and how it affected us and yeah, it's tough. It really put you under the spotlight a little bit. So, look, it's not ideal timing, but I guess bigger picture stuff, it's pretty incredible for women's sport and women's cricket to see some of the money that was thrown around in the tournament that's going to be kicking off shortly.
[Reporter]
You mentioned wanting to find out why the kind of collapses are happening. How do you begin that process? Is it just about going out there, batting again and seeing what happens?
[Sophie]
Yeah, I think it's a real combination of things. I think there's only so much training you can do and hitting in the nets and things like that, you just have to get out there and do it, which is really tough and how you can train that at match intensity with the same sort of level of consequences and pressure is a really tricky thing to do and I mean, I've been playing cricket for a very long time now. I'm not sure I've been involved in a group where you can simulate that similar sort of pressure, but we've got to look at ourselves, we've got to have some serious discussions around what's happening and what's going on because yeah, I think, I said it before, we've got the skill to do it. I've seen these girls smack me all around the park and I can see them do it in the net, so it's not through a lack of skill, it's just the execution of being able to do it on the big stage.
[Reporter]
Sophie, forgive me if I'm wrong, but you sound very angry. Is that anger going to come out towards your players or what are you going to say to them now?
[Sophie]
It's probably going to come out in tears if I'm honest, yeah now you've set me off. Yeah just, yeah, it's really hard to lose games of cricket like that, I'd much rather we went down swinging and get bowled out for 12 than not show our true ability and be pumped like that. Full credit has to go to South Africa, they were the much better team, but me getting angry is not going to solve anything, yeah, I don't know the answer, I honestly don't and that's where it's really hard, I wish there was some sort of magic bullet that could fix it all and we could come right within the next couple of hours, but I don't know the answer and that's what we're going to have to figure out as a team and that's what we're going to have to go through as a group is to figure it out together because we're in this for the long haul and that's what I love about this group, we haven't played to our potential and it's been upsetting and it's been embarrassing and disappointing but I'd give anything to play for this group and for the girls that are in that shed upstairs right now is me getting angry isn't going to do anything about it, if anything I need to get round them and you know wrap my arm around them, particularly those youngsters you know, they came back into their sheds and they were saying Jesus, Mel was so quick and you know I've got to put it into perspective, that's huge for them, Fran's what 19, Eden's what 20 - 21, I didn't have a clue what I was doing at that sort of age, so the fact that you know they are out there and we spoke about it after the Australian game, we never want to put them two in that position and we did it again today, so we've got to find the positives amongst it but it is, it's going to be a pretty messy I think 24 hours.
[Reporter]
Sophie Devine, Susie Bates, one of the most feared names in the history of the game for New Zealand, when you look back at that scorecard for the past two games, do you think those names, what do they feel when they look back on the scorecard and how they played, how they misread the pitch?
[Sophie]
Not sure they misread the pitch, I think that's a bit harsh, I think just poor execution, I think decision making is a split second thing in cricket, Susie Bates is one of the best players in the world and will continue to be the best player in the world for a long time to come yet and that sort of experience and form, it will never leave, absolutely we are going to be disappointed but cricket is a fickle game at times, we haven't performed and we know that and we are going to acknowledge that, we haven't been at our best but I still back Susie, I back myself in, I back every one of those girls up there to be able to perform, we haven't played well at all the last two games so look that doesn't change what I think about our team.
[Reporter]
Sophie, you are a very experienced player, can you ever think of a time in the past where you have been in this situation before and how you maybe got through it?
[Sophie]
Oh jeez, I'm sure I have been, I've been playing cricket for a while now so I'm sure there has been a situation like this, I don't know, I guess every situation is different, I mean going through it at an under 12 tournament is probably slightly different to an international World Cup playing for your country, I don't know, I think like I said, I'm probably sounding a bit like a broken record but we've got to talk about it, we've got to figure out what's going on and again like I said I don't think it's ability or skill, I think it's what's happening upstairs, it's the top two inches which, yeah, I don't know, I don't really have an answer for you, I'm sorry like I can't give you more but at the moment I'm not too sure what's going on, sorry.
[Reporter]
Sophie, everything sounds all doom and gloom and negative here and you spoke what positives, what positives can you take home tonight?
[Sophie]
Thank you, it's brightening the mood, look I think we've got some young players that have got some exceptional talent coming through, I think every team goes through these cycles of players where you lose experienced players and you bring in this new crop and for me I'm really excited, you know, Eden Carson, Fran Jonas, Georgia today, you know, they're really exciting players and it's tough when you're not winning but like you say we do have to find the positives in amongst the doom and gloom and I thought they were great, Eden was fantastic tonight with the ball, I thought she was really courageous with the way she bowled, especially after not having the greatest game against Australia so, you know, that's something to be really proud of and yeah, again, this group's really special, I know we probably haven't had the performance that we want but, you know, I think we've got the talent in here to hopefully keep growing over the next couple of years.
[Reporter]
I know it's a little hard to talk about it right now but do you think that the changes that happened in the past few months in New Zealand cricket, some of the rapid changes, some of the new names coming in, some of the old names going out, do you think this result is a direct reflection of those rapid changes or just a one match or two matches that went wrong?
[Sophie]
I think I mentioned it before where every team's going to go through these cycles of players coming and going and we're obviously probably in that transition phase a little bit now with some really key experienced players exiting the game and that new crop coming through but, yeah, again, I'm sure we're going to absolutely dissect every part of this tournament and this campaign when we get back to New Zealand and I think a big part of that's going to be our domestic game. If I'm being brutally honest, I'm not sure if it's preparing us for international cricket and you're seeing now obviously the WBBL, the 100 and now the WPL, they're highly competitive tournaments and they're preparing players. We've seen Australia, we're seeing England and I'm scared to think what India's going to be like with the opportunities that they give themselves and I think we've done great things in New Zealand with our domestic cricket but I'm not sure it's at the same standard as those other competitions so, look, I think everything's going to be picked apart and rightly so when we get back to New Zealand.
[Reporter]
You've still got two games, it's not over for you yet. And so, and there's still a chance that you might make it over the line. And have you guys thought about that or are you still recovering from what happened today?
[Sophie]
Yeah, recovering, mourning, I don't know what you call it. Yeah, I think we've got to reflect on today's game. We probably haven't looked ahead yet because as I've said throughout this presser, we have to talk about tonight and we have to talk about the other night as well. So I'm sure we will look forward to that. And as you say, there probably is some mathematical chance that we can make the semifinals. To do that though, we've got to reflect on where we've gone wrong in the past two games and where we need to rectify those moving forward. So yeah, we'll have those discussions in time. I guess the good thing is we've got a couple of days now before our next game. So I think we need to acknowledge tonight and reflect and talk about it. And then I guess in due course, we'll be able to look forward and start planning ahead.
[Reporter]
Just another one, I know things haven't gone your way, but we have seen some good performances, especially from Eden and others as well. So what would you say about those guys?
[Sophie]
Yeah, look, I'm really proud of them. And I think certainly one of the positives to come out of our previous two games is how some of our youngsters have performed. I thought Eden again was great today with the ball. Georgia Plimmer with the bat today showed some real courage and taking on two of the best bowlers in the world. So there is certainly some positives to come out of it. And that's probably what we have to remind ourselves when we are dealing with the nitty-gritty, messy stuff. But yeah, again, it just wasn't good enough tonight.