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ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP

February 16, 2015

Preston Mommsen

DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND

Q. I guess it's a big moment for you as a team because it's your first opportunity against New Zealand.
PRESTON MOMMSEN: Yeah, exactly. It's been a long time coming. It's a long time since we've qualified, and a lot of work has gone into getting to this point, so we're very excited and very ready to get on to the parktomorrow.

Q. How do you rate your chances as a side, bearing in mind you've had a pretty good buildup?
PRESTON MOMMSEN: Yeah, the buildup has been near perfect for the boys. We're very realistic about the opposition that we're up against. Obviously New Zealand are a quality team, and the form they are currently in, they're going to be a difficult team to break down. But at the same time we've prepared as we have for every other game in the lead‑up to this gametomorrow, and hopefully we can put in a good performance.

Q. How do you view the strength of your side?
PRESTON MOMMSEN: I think we have quite a dynamic side. Obviously inexperienced in terms of playing on the world stage, but at the same time I think we can use that to our advantage. Very raw team, so there will be a huge amount of energy there, a huge amount of passion, and the boys will be playing very hard.

Q. What sort of assistance has Grant Bradburn been in terms of telling you about conditions here and the New Zealand side?
PRESTON MOMMSEN: Yeah, of course he's got huge experience with playing in New Zealand and coached probably a lot of the guys in that New Zealand team. He's given us some valuable insights in our prep for the gametomorrow.

Q. I don't know if you've been watching the Ireland game, but does that give you a bit more encouragement knowing how well Ireland are going and how well you played against them?
PRESTON MOMMSEN: Yeah, I think so. That Ireland team we know are very strong. They're very good at performing on the world stage when it really counts. But we take a lot of confidence from the way they started the tournament against the West Indies. We obviously turned over Ireland quite significantly, and we took West Indies very close. We're going into this gametomorrowwith a huge amount of confidence.

Q. Obviously you were here as part of your preparation and you played a series of games, you pushed the New Zealand side rather closely. Does that performance give you a lot of confidence in this match?
PRESTON MOMMSEN: Definitely. We watched a video this morning of that game, and we took a huge amount from that game. We took them very close, and really we should have won that game. A lot of the guys playingtomorrowplayed in that game, so we've got that to call upon, and hopefully we can produce a similar performancetomorrowand take the game deep.

Q. What do you make of the conditions? Have you had a look at the pitch?
PRESTON MOMMSEN: Yeah, I had a look at the pitch yesterday. I think it's going to be a good cricket wicket. Obviously the angles are pretty important here. It's probably a smaller field, so that comes into it. I think we've got to play smart cricket to have any chancetomorrow.

Q. A lot of Scottish people live in Dunedin, they call it the Edinburgh of the south. Have you enjoyed your time here, and how has the reception been?
PRESTON MOMMSEN: Yeah, it's been an awesome couple of days. We were fortunate enough to have a very warm reception with the Matahui tribe who gave us a very warm welcome, and then obviously we had a ceremony in the Hectagon, and that was pretty special for all of us, really. We really felt like we were here, we were a part of it, and the World Cup had started for us.

Q. Has the belief in your side sort of changed since you arrived here and you had those two very good warm‑up matches?
PRESTON MOMMSEN: I think the belief in the side probably changed 12 months ago when we qualified for this tournament. We lost the first game of that qualifying tournament, and we knew our backs were against it, and we had to win every game in that tournament to qualify, and pretty much a lot of the guys, their careers were on the line. From that moment we really learnt how to deal with pressure and guys standing up when they need to stand up. I think, though, looking back at the last two games, Ireland and West Indies, I think you're right, they've done a huge amount for this team, and hopefully that'll showtomorrow.

Q. The New Zealand side have established their plan, their pattern of play, and their big players, of course, the likes of Brendon McCullum, Corey Anderson and the like. Are you daunted by the prospect of the way they play the game, the power game that they bring?
PRESTON MOMMSEN: I don't think we're daunted by the way they play. Obviously the focus has very much been on the way we want to play our gametomorrow. At the same time we know they're dangerous. It's a dangerous lineup from 1 to 11. At the same time they're still human beings, they still can nick the ball and get caught at slip. We have to put the balls in the right areas and make sure we're able to contain them. Obviously we can draw on that experience of coming up against West Indies, a very dangerous batting lineup with Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Andre Russell towards the deaths, so that was good experience and very recent for us, and we'll call upon that.

Q. Knowing that you're from this far away from home, have you got five interesting things you can potentially tell us about this Scottish cricket team?
PRESTON MOMMSEN: I do have one very interesting thing. Iain Wardlaw, there's been a lot of press around that he's climbed Mount Everest. That indeed is not true. He put that when he first played for Scotland, he did a little Q &A, and he put it there as a joke, and our media man was guilty of putting that online. So yeah, I think the ICC have taken a liking to that fact and that's been published all over the world. But other than that, yeah, any other interesting facts about us? Pretty boring bunch, really. No, we're straight down the line Scotsmen!

Q. One of you guys, he was here with Waitaki boys or something, involved a couple of years ago; is that right?
PRESTON MOMMSEN: Matthew Machan? He's played over here, yeah. I think a couple of years ago when he was kind of in the academy at Sussex, I think he came over for a winter and played somewhere around here.

Q. Are there players in your 11 that you think can make a big impact in this World Cup if there are a few that you could sort of point out?
PRESTON MOMMSEN: I think 1 to 11 have the possibility and the potential to make an impact at this World Cup. Matthew Machan, very dynamic, short, punchy short of player, David Warner style player, and has the ability to take the game away from the opposition. Calum Macleod has had a brilliant past 12 months, and Kyle Coetzer is also looking good with his 96 against West Indies. He's in good touch. We'll be looking to them to score heavily and hopefully feature in the top 10, top 20 of the run scorers in this group stage, and hopefully that sets us up to get through to the next round. At the same time we have bowlers who will exploit conditions and are very skillful in their own right. Iain Wardlaw, Josh Davey only recently broke the world record of being the only two opening bowlers to ever take 10 wickets in an ODI. We're in good shape, we're in good touch, and hopefully these players for us can stand up and put in good performances.

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