2 April - Christchurch - Australia Captain Meg Lanning pre-match press conference

Reporter: Firstly, congratulations on making the final - I suppose it’s best to start with an update on fitness of all players?

Meg Lanning: Yes, so we feel like we'll have a full squad. So Ellyse got through a pretty hard and high intensity session yesterday, and she’s trained again today, and is feeling pretty good. So it'll just depend on how she pulls up sort of this afternoon. That will be the sort of the final hurdle she needs to get over. But at this stage, it's looking pretty good. But yeah, again, we’ll just assess later on this afternoon and then pick the team accordingly.

Reporter: At the start of the tournament, you said that you were chasing England, but since then, they've had a bit of a rocky path to the final you've won all your matches and top to the table. Are you still chasing England?

Lanning: Oh, we're both chasing the same thing as much as the other, so that's the thing about World Cup finals- it's all on the line on the day. It's really irrelevant what's happened previously in the tournament. Both teams start on 0 runs tomorrow, and it's about putting out a really good performance tomorrow. And that's the challenge for our team, we've certainly been building and playing some good cricket along the way but, we have to put out a really good performance tomorrow to win and we're looking forward to the opportunity to do that.

Reporter: And obviously the World Cup final tomorrow's a big day. But I think it's also due to be your 100th ODI - is there time for you to reflect on that and take that in as well as what is obviously going to be going on tomorrow.

Lanning: Not really I mean it's obviously a huge honor to play that many games for your country I feel very lucky to be able to do it and for it to be on a World Cup final is great, but ultimately it comes down to the game tomorrow and trying to win that game and I'll certainly be doing my best to try and contribute to that win.

Reporter: Is there a relief or excitement that Pez can take her place in the final given the 2020 disaster?

Lanning: Oh, look, Elyse is a world class player and has shown that over a long period of time, particularly in this 50 over format - I think she averages 50 with the bat and has a great record with the ball as well. So yeah to have someone have that experience, someone who's performed on big stage before, hopefully to be able to be part of our team is a huge boost. We feel like that does add to our side and ability to win tomorrow. So yeah, we'll have to see how it goes over the next couple of hours. But yeah, if she was able to get up it certainly gives our lineup a bit of a boost.

Reporter: Can you describe the mood in camp? Is your team ready? Are they balls of energy? Are they nervous? There's lots of different emotions?

Lanning: I think a bit of everything to be honest. Yeah, there's certainly some nerves around I think it'd be crazy if you weren't nervous heading into a World Cup final so it's a good thing. But there's a lot of excitement it's a great opportunity for our team. To play really good cricket and, we feel like we've been building throughout the tournament and we've got a really good game plan and also the skill sets within the team to be able to deliver but it comes down to what happens tomorrow. And we know that it's going to be tough, England, always provide a great contest. They've got some world class players who can take the game away from you really quickly. So it's going to be a massive challenge for us and certainly not going to be easy but we feel confident that if we can put out as close to our best as possible then that will give us a good chance.

Reporter: And Heather Knight is quoted as saying it’s written that England will win the final - What do you make of that sort of comment given Australia have beaten seven times a row in One Day Internationals?

Lanning: I'm not too fussed about that. To be honest. I haven't seen it. But yeah, it's really irrelevant what's happened previously in the tournament. It's really irrelevant what you say it's actually about going out there and playing to your best and executing your skills under pressure and that's what it's about tomorrow and we know that we're going to have to do that. So that's the way we're approaching tomorrow's game. We certainly know it’s not just going to happen, we have to go out there and play well and it's going to be tough, but we're looking forward to the chance.

Reporter: Sorry to keep asking about Pez but she hasn't bowled the training the last few days. Would she be available to bowl in the final or would you play our specials back she does get up?

Lanning: She can actually play as a specialist bat and that's probably the most likely scenario to be honest, You're right. She hasn't just bowled for a couple of weeks now and it would be difficult for her to come out and bowl in a final if she hadn't done that. So yeah, it's looking like if she does play it’s as a specialist batter which is fine, because as I said before she averages 50 with bat, so she's certainly an important part of the batting lineup for us.

Reporter: And you used seven bowlers last time you played England and also in a few of the other group games with just having the six options - if you like all the bases are covered?

Lanning: Yeah, I think throughout the tournament as well there's been times when someone hasn’t bowled at all so six is certainly enough, seven is a bit of a luxury just in case you need to go to different options. But yeah, I think we've shown over a long period of time now that the six bowlers is a good good amount of players for us. It gives us some sort of flexibility, but at the end of the day, you got to trust your bowlers and back them to be able to deliver and we've got six very good bowlers who we’ll take into this game and full confidence that they'll be able to do the job.

Reporter: And the team had a good chance to see the ground - and things here and have a look knowing I don't think Australia's played a match at Hagley since 2000 World Cup from the records.

Lanning: I'm not sure what the conditions were like back them, but Yeah, we've had a look obviously at the pitch and we've seen some of the games played previously here. So it's no different to how we approach the tournament thus far and in terms of playing the conditions that are in front of us adapting as quickly as we can and playing accordingly. So, yeah, we feel very well prepared. We think we have a good handle on what the conditions are going to be like but it's just about going out there and playing to them.

Reporter: I just wanted to - given that Pez has been such a great servant of Australian cricket for sort of the last 15 years and given the obviously the personal disappointment missing out on the T20, is there much sentimentality involved around trying to make sure she plays in the final?

Lanning: You're right. She has been a great of the game and contributed a lot, but we wouldn't be taking any injured player into a final unless we thought they could perform to the level and we put Pez through a pretty tough session yesterday, the fielding and batting have gone quite well. So if she does play tomorrow, then she's fit and ready to go. So as much as you'd love to sort of have some sentiment there and make sure that the best of the game get rewarded, that really hasn't played a part in the decision, it's all come down to whether she's able to perform at the level and if she plays, we think she'll be able to do that.

Reporter: And is there a chance the cut off point could be tomorrow to see how she wakes up?

Lanning: We’re keen to make the decision this afternoon I think so we're just assessing how she came through the net session today. And then once we feel like she's okay from there, then we'll make the call. But we want to try and do it as early as we can so we can let everybody know and make sure those who are playing can prepare.

Reporter: to have a percentage on her chances?

Lanning: It's looking pretty good at the moment and yeah, like given that you got through such a tough system yesterday and then was able to back it up again today with the bat gives us some good confidence. So yeah, we're hoping that it goes in her favor.

Reporter: I have two questions for you. The first one – you spoke about nerves a little while ago. Give us an insight into how the team is coping with the nerves and the expectations.

Lanning: Yeah, we're looking forward to the chance to play in a World Cup finally that's what we came here to do. Really to give ourselves a chance to win the World Cup and we've done that - yeah, as I said that there are some nerves around but I think that's totally expected and it's a really good thing because it means a lot to us and we want to, play really well tomorrow. So I think the group's in a really good spot. There's a good calmness about the group as well. Just really understanding the role that individually they need to play and how that impacts the team and we’re really clear on our plans and what it looks like and now it's just about going out there and executing and enjoying it. Well we do it I think throughout the tournament, we've played with a smile on our face a lot. And yeah, we don't get the opportunity to play in World Cup finals very often. So we're looking forward to the chance and we're going to enjoy it.

Reporter: Is there one individual in England lineup that your team is weary of?

Lanning: Not one in particular. We've looked at everyone through their team, we've identified the key threats with bat and ball and we know that they've got some world class players so we're preparing for all of their players to play at their best and we feel like we've got some good plans in place to be able to combat that but it's going to be hard work and a really good contest and we're excited by that.

Reporter: Obviously while the team is very similar to the 2020 final against India, got a few new players there likes of Tahlia, Darcy. How are they approaching the build up to the final this week and are they fitting well to that that sort of structure?

Lanning: Yeah, from what I've seen they're coping with it really well. I haven't seen a change in the way they're going about things on or off the field which is great. And that's what we encourage everyone to do and particularly the young players coming in, we want them to be themselves and enjoy the opportunity and they've done that throughout this tournament so far and from what I saw out there today everybody's really relaxed and looking forward to the game tomorrow -we're pretty pumped that it's around the corner and we finally get the chance to go out there and showcase what we've got and hopefully that that ends up in a win for us.

Reporter: You've already touched on conditions but just to broaden that out more I think how variable and different does the day night factor play in New Zealand in particular? And does the fact that England had quite a fair few more day- nighters, give them slight more comfort in those conditions?

Lanning: We know what the sort of conditions are going to do tomorrow and I guess under lights it all tends to slide on a touch more. There has been some dew coming in as well, as we've seen here. So we're pretty, pretty confident in terms of what we think might happen. So we're prepared for that as best we can. We’ve played some night games throughout this World Cup and through the Ashes as well not long ago. So yeah, we're well equipped to deal with batting or bowling under lights. It really doesn't bother us. So it's just about playing to the conditions and what's in front of you. So yeah, I think we're as best prepared as we can be. We've had a look at it. We think we know what's going to happen. And now we're just going to go to play to it.