18 February - Gqeberha - Australia player Talia McGrath post-match press conference
[Reporter]
Well played. First of all, how did you feel about your own form and your knock tonight?
[Tahlia McGrath]
It's a big relief. I haven't been batting overly well and I've lacked sometime in the middle, so I was a bit nervous to start off with. It's been nice watching the batters at the top order do their thing, but yeah, also nice to get an opportunity tonight.
[Reporter]
What do you think made it click for you tonight?
[Tahlia McGrath]
Just keeping it pretty simple. Early on, play straight, get used to the conditions and then got a few out the middle and went from there and just grew in confidence as the innings went on.
[Reporter]
Just finally, what do you think it says about Australia's depth that there always seems to be someone that can come in and make a score? You've got Elisa out tonight, but you had Beth there stepping in and there's always a bowler that can step in. What do you make of Australia's depth and is that your strength?
[Tahlia McGrath]
That's absolutely our biggest strength is that we've got so many options. So many players can play different roles and it seems to be someone different sticks their hand up every time. We're all in really good form at the moment with the bat, with the ball. We've got a really strong squad over here, so we go into those semi-finals full of confidence.
[Reporter]
It's probably an unusual thing that you haven't made, I guess, contributions until tonight with the bat, but with the ball as well, because you haven't been able to get the chance to bowl with the amount of bowlers that Meg's been using. So, has it been a little bit frustrating for you? Have you been especially keen to say, hey, I'm here?
[Tahlia McGrath]
Yeah, I've been a specialist fielder the last couple of games, but this is my first T20 World Cup. I'm loving it. I love every chance I get to put on an Aussie shirt. So, I knew I was going to have an opportunity where the team needed me and I had to be ready. So, I've been loving, yeah, watching. We've all been doing so well with the bat, with the ball. And I knew that when I had my opportunity, I needed to be ready. So yeah, like I said, that's the biggest strength of our squad is how much depth we have.
[Reporter]
How do you do that? How do you make sure that you're ready? Because I guess it's been conditions have played a big part in why you haven't bowled yet.
[Tahlia McGrath]
Yeah, I just keep training the way I do. I stick to my processes, stick to my routines and it's been working for me. So, I don't stray too far away from that. Yeah, assess the conditions because they're a little bit tricky, a little bit different over here. So, assess them early and then adapt really quickly.
[Reporter]
And just for you, it's been a big week for you. You're one of the players who've picked up a pretty neat WPL deal. How have you been coping with all the emotions of this week?
[Tahlia McGrath]
It's pretty exciting. It's been a competition we've all been looking forward to for a while and for it to be up and running and to be a part of it, I'm really excited. It's a weird one at the moment. I've tried to sort of park it to the side and then focus on the World Cup. And then, yeah, I'm sure once this is all over, I'll be pretty excited to head over to India.
[Reporter]
When did you guys become aware of Midge's quad issue tonight and that she wouldn't be playing?
[Tahlia McGrath]
We knew she'd have a little sort of fitness test this morning, but it was more of a precautionary measure with coming off a serious calf injury and with a pretty hectic schedule. So yeah, we expect her to be fully fit and ready to go for us in the semi-finals.
[Reporter]
And I guess it's a bit of an unusual position you guys are in with the group stage done and still a few days of games to go. What do the next few days look like for the team?
[Tahlia McGrath]
Yeah, we've had a few changes in plans. It's sort of the way it's worked for us lately. Everything happens, everything changes quickly, but we'll head back to, fly back to Cape Town tomorrow and then we've got some nice time off. So, explore what South Africa has to offer and then, yeah, the business end of the competition.
[Reporter]
And just going back to what you said about playing your first T20 World Cup, if you look back on where you started, you know, the kind of cushioning that you got from Cricket Australia through the contract, how crucial do you see that in terms of how your career has panned out over the past two, three years?
[Tahlia McGrath]
Yeah, I've had certainly had a journey, debuted in 2016 and then found myself in and out of the squad. And when I got that contract, it was sort of a little bit out of the blue and Cricket Australia showed a bit of faith in me. So, it's been nice to repay them and become a regular in the side. I'm loving playing my cricket at the moment.
[Reporter]
And going by the look of the crowd today, some 9,000 odd people turning up, how was it playing in front of a crowd like this?
[Tahlia McGrath]
That's the best thing about playing cricket when you get to play in front of crowds like that. They were so loud, passionate. A personal highlight for me was when they had their phone torches on and they were waving them around. So, yeah, I love playing in front of crowds like that.
[Reporter]
And final one, given Australia going to the semis undefeated, unsurprisingly, what sort of messaging do you think it sends out to the rest of the teams who might end up playing the knockouts, unfortunately?
[Tahlia McGrath]
Yeah, it sends a pretty strong message. We've got such a strong, strong squad here and we're playing some really good cricket, but four wins means nothing when you get to knockout finals. So, we're going to have to be at our best and there's some quality teams in the competition. So yeah, like I said, we go in full of confidence, but it's also going to be really difficult.
[Reporter]
I just wanted to ask one of the things that you spoke about earlier, whether it's since you come back in the India series back home in 2021, there have been several locations where you have come in, precious situations and you've just cruised through the situation with these and taking the team home. So how do you assess such situations and is it something you thrive upon? How do you look at it mentally?
[Tahlia McGrath]
It's a really good question. I seem to thrive in difficult situations and I'm no good in the easier ones, but I just love a challenge. I love the fight. And yeah, like I said, I keep it pretty simple when it's a tense situation out there. I keep it pretty simple and it seems to be working for me at the moment. So yeah, I'll just roll with it.
[Reporter]
Just one last for me. Today during the innings, you were taking it slow early on, but then there was a shot where you just stepped out and hit Ismail over the mid-wicket or something. Was that the trigger point? Where did you, you know, decided that you're going to go ahead and start playing your shots?
[Tahlia McGrath]
Yeah, it was a tough one. I don't like facing Ismail. She's a quality bowler and had me looking pretty silly. So, I had to do something, had to change something. And we speak a lot about playing a really brave, fearless brand. And for me, it's a short ball coming. So, I tried to sort of disrupt their length a bit. And look, my head was in the sky, but I managed to get it away and come out on top of that one. So that's how it went.