15 February - Cape Town - Ireland player Arlene Kelly post-match press conference
[Reporter]
Could you just sum up the kind of emotions that's kind of going through the side at the minute after that?
[Arlene Kelly]
Yeah, I think that's a disappointing result. Fair to say that Pakistan were clinical on all three facets and we probably weren't up from scratch today. But we know it's a quick turnaround, T20, anything can happen. So yeah, I guess looking forward, we've got a big game on Friday, which we’ll turn our attention to.
[Reporter]
Muneeba especially had like a really clinical ability to hit gaps, mid-off comes up, that's where the ball goes, cover comes up. Was that just down to her class or was there an element of, you know, because sometimes you did cramp it for room and she still did it, or was that an element of maybe bowling a little bit two sides as a collective?
[Arlene Kelly]
Yeah, I think today we were two sides of the wicket. We'd string together a couple of dot balls, but then give a loosener, which she was able to make the most of. But like you say, it was an exceptional innings. I guess difficult to be on the other end, but from a spectacle that was outstanding.
[Reporter]
Did you feel in the game chasing 160 halfway?
[Arlene Kelly]
Yeah, definitely. We bat deep, we know that that's a good wicket and the outfield's quick. So, I think we want to take a fearless approach to this cricket. We want to fight right to the end. And there's still a lot of positives that we can take from that performance today.
[Reporter]
It looks to be a much stronger Pakistan outfit than the one you came up against in November, or at least they're in much better form. Why do you think that is?
[Arlene Kelly]
Oh, look, I think, to be honest, we probably weren't on the ball today. I think they did put out a strong performance, but they still gave us chances and we weren't able to take those. So yeah.
[Reporter]
Just wanted to ask, you know, in the previous game, I landed up with a bad person here, you chosen to bowl. Is that something that was just pitch related or you just wanted to change it up because of the result or something that had happened during the previous match?
[Arlene Kelly]
To be honest, I wasn't privy to those conversations. But we knew this would be a good batting wicket and quick outfield. So no, I completely backed Laura's decision on that.
[Reporter]
Also, last night till around 8 - 8.30, your team were practicing here, had long fielding drills. But today, it wasn't really reflecting that way. So, your thoughts on that?
[Arlene Kelly]
That's cricket. I think no one means to drop a catch, no one means to miss field. We will reflect. We know we're better than what we put out there today. So yeah, I'm not sure you can fault the training.
[Reporter]
I'm not sure how much you would have seen in terms of replays of that Bismah catch. Could you tell us whether you have seen it and just kind of what you thought about that? She seemed pretty upset.
[Arlene Kelly]
Yeah, I'll be honest, I had no idea. But I guess that's what the umpires are there for, to try and use the technology to make the best decision. So, I guess we'll take it today, but any other day it could go a different way.
[Reporter]
I don't know if you were able to watch any of the West Indies game earlier, but how are you feeling about going into that game?
[Arlene Kelly]
Yeah, I think it's an exciting opportunity again for us to try and showcase our skills. Obviously, another night game out here. So, we'll be a bit more familiar with the conditions, but we do really want to show what we're capable of on this world stage. So yeah, we'll reflect on today. We have a nice day off tomorrow and then come out on Friday to play a brand of fearless cricket.
[Reporter]
The fact that one of your games is under the lights, is that any excuse for your performance tonight or is that any reason?
[Arlene Kelly]
No, no excuses. We've played under lights at the qualifiers. Like it was mentioned, we had a training under lights tonight. I think we just weren't clinical. But like I've said, we've got another opportunity on Friday to redeem ourselves. And I don't doubt that every single player will want to put their skills on show.
[Reporter]
And the innings by Muneeba, was that down to her very good batting or a bit of help from your bowling?
[Arlene Kelly]
Yeah, a bit of both. I wouldn't take anything away from the innings. It was an exceptional knock and I hope a lot of us learned a lot from that. But as well as that, we did bowl two sides of the wicket and struggled to kind of build any pressure. So again, we'll be looking to Friday, we'll be looking to right our wrongs and come out fighting.
[Reporter]
And what, did you think it was a par total at halfway, did you? You fancied your chances of getting into the game?
[Arlene Kelly]
Yeah, 100%. Yeah, I completely backed the batters, we backed deep. And to be fair, we did get off to a good start. I think it's just about maximising in those middle periods and I guess batting out the full 20 becomes crucial.
[Reporter]
My question is that Irish women beat Pakistan in the home in the RBI T20 series, and you won two of the games. And it was kind of the same team that Pakistan was playing in that T20 series as well. What do you think went wrong? Was it the South African conditions, the neutral value or something that Ireland did wrong or something that Pakistan did fairly well that they were not doing at their home?
[Arlene Kelly]
I think we weren't clinical enough, but I think Muneeba put together an outstanding knock. And yeah, that was a very competitive series in Pakistan. And we knew that if we could perform at our best today, we were definitely in with a chance. But unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
[Reporter]
And what are you looking forward to in your remaining campaign of Ireland in the World Cup?
[Arlene Kelly]
Yeah, I mean, we've got two more games at this stage, two more opportunities to show the world what we are capable of. So, yeah, we're going to look to make the most of that.
[Reporter]
I suppose, really, what was the decision behind the decision to bat first? You obviously knew- you had surveyed the pitch beforehand and decided that was the best choice?
[Arlene Kelly]
Yeah, I guess, like I mentioned, I wasn't really privy to those conversations. But we'll back Laura's decision completely. I think we knew it was going to be a quick outfield and a good batting wicket. So, runs on the board. Yeah, are key.
[Reporter]
And obviously, this game against the West Indies now is of vital importance. So obviously you're targeting that, so you'll regroup, you have a good group of players, so you'll keep your confidence high anyhow?
[Arlene Kelly]
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, the morale within camp is still fantastic. They are a good group of girls. So yeah, we'll come out on Friday. Looking to go again.