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ICC CRICKET WORLD CUPMarch 13, 2015Martin GuptillTim SoutheeHAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND Q. Martin, satisfying to come through a really tough workout there in the game before the knockouts? MARTIN GUPTILL: Yeah, absolutely. It was a bit of a topsy-turvy game. They were on top for a lot of it, then we fought back and then they fought back again. It's just nice to get the win under the belt and show some fight towards the end, and the way Timmy and Dan finished it off was pretty fantastic. Q. And just personally, your hundred, nice to sign off the group stage with the first three figures for the team of the tournament? MARTIN GUPTILL: Yeah, absolutely. It's always nice to score a hundred, whether it's in the World Cup or not. It's nice to get the end result there and get the win, as well. Q. Martin, is that as well as you've hit it for a while in black? MARTIN GUPTILL: Yes and no. I think it's been building up to this. Today was just sort of one of those days where everything went into the gap and I scored quite freely. Those days are few and far between sometimes, so when you have those days, you've got to make the most of them. Q. Has it been a frustrating run for you, and did you feel you were just around the corner from making it click? MARTIN GUPTILL: I've always felt like I've always been around the corner, you know, through the whole summer. Today it's nice that everything sort of clicked together and I got the hundred under the belt. Q. Just a thought on how the team showed quite a bit of poise under pressure, and is this the perfect entree to knockout cricket? TIM SOUTHEE: Yeah, obviously a tight finish, and it just shows we found another way to win another game of cricket, and I think that's a testament to the side. We were challenged in different ways, and we managed to come through it and add another two points to the total. Yeah, it's a different win for us, but it just shows us the quality to the side and we can win where we're in different circumstances throughout the game. Q. Martin, just how vital is it that the batsmen were able to get some opportunities outside of Kane and Brendon? MARTIN GUPTILL: Yeah, obviously those two are having some pretty good summers. But them getting out early and us to be able to put a hundred partnership on, Ross and myself, and then Grant coming in and playing the great little cameo hitter, and then obviously Corey, as well, just shows the depth that we've got in our batting lineup and that we can fight through any situation. Q. Martin, tell us about was it cramps that you went down with? MARTIN GUPTILL: It was just a cramp in my calf. Not a great time to get it, but I got through it and was able to carry on with it. Q. Do you think maybe it affected your movement when you came forward for that shot? MARTIN GUPTILL: Once I sort of got myself set, the cramps sort of came back a little bit, but that's not an excuse. It was a poor option at the wrong time, and that's the way cricket goes. But we got the win under the belt. Q. More on that, what actually went through your head when you kind of went down and pulled up short on 99? Did you realise it was cramp and think, oh, yeah, we'll be able brush this off quickly, or did you think it might be something more serious? MARTIN GUPTILL: No, I knew it was a cramp because it was building up for a few hours before that. Just unlucky there to push off a run and come on pretty suddenly. Q. So you weren't too worried that it was going to impact you making the hundred? MARTIN GUPTILL: No, no, not at all. Q. Southee, are you surprised the way the Bangladesh batsmen are batting in these kind of conditions, and do you think this is payback for New Zealand? TIM SOUTHEE: Yeah, they've had the edge over us in their conditions, and we've managed to keep the edge over them in our conditions. Yeah, it's always been reasonably tight between the two of us. I think their batters got through a trippy period at the start there where it was swinging, and for us only having two down I guess gave them a bit of a base to get through and they adapted to the conditions. Mahmudullah played a pretty great innings, great knock through the middle there where he sort of picked his pace and other guys chipped in around. Yeah, I think they will take heart over the way that they played in these conditions. Q. Tim, what was going through your mind when you were going to the crease given throughout the tournament you'd only faced the one bowl with the bat and Mitchell Starc had bowled you? TIM SOUTHEE: Thanks, mate. Yeah, I think it was great to have Dan there. Obviously a lot of experience and someone that's been in those situations before, so he sort of -- he was great to have the other end to talk you through what your options were and the way that we were going to knock off those runs. Yeah, just showed that although it might have been a bit tense around, it was great to have an old hit at the other end to get us through to the end there. Q. Tim, you've won plenty of games with the ball. What does it mean to you to win a game with the bat? TIM SOUTHEE: Yeah, it's very nice. As bowlers we don't get that many chances to, and we probably don't finish enough games than what we should, so it is nice to be there at the end and to finish the game off. Q. Does it give you confidence now should that situation arise again that you've got the ability to be able to do it? Is it a confidence boost for your own game? TIM SOUTHEE: Yeah, I think all the guys learnt from the Aussie game in Auckland and just the pressure that comes with, I guess, a nervous run chase. And yeah, I think the guys -- the bowlers work extremely hard on their batting in the nets, and it is good to be able to go out there and contribute to the team. There's a lot of faith in us bowlers in the way we bat in the nets and the way we train, so it is nice to repay that faith that the batters have in us. Q. Tim, your quarterfinal opponent is not determined yet, but it's looking much like it'll be West Indies. Are you quite comfortable facing them in Wellington in eight days' time? TIM SOUTHEE: Yeah, I guess it's one of the perks of finishing top in your table. You face the fourth qualifier in the other side. Yeah, they're going to be a dangerous side. In knockout cricket, it all starts again; anything can happen. What's happened in the tournament sort of so far doesn't really count for much when you reach the knockout stages. Yeah, we have a couple days off and refresh and look and wait to see who our opponent is, but they are a dangerous side. They've got a few match winners there that have won matches for a number of years. Yeah, whoever we do come across, I'm sure we'll plan accordingly and not too much changes in our preparation leading into it. Q. Can I just ask about how the overs worked out the end of the bowling innings? Was that meant that Mitch didn't quite finish off and Brendon had to turn to Grant? Was that tactical, or was there a bit of miscalculation that went on with how the overs were spread out at the end there? TIM SOUTHEE: No, I think it's just the way -- we've got enough bowlers up our sleeves and if someone is having an off day then you've got guys to call upon, and Grant is showing he can do a great job with the ball, and there's also Kane who hasn't bowled yet. So yeah, it's just, I guess, the beauty of having options there at the end to turn to. Brendon's mentality is to attack throughout the innings and try and minimize the death period, but obviously we had to cover that today, and I guess we'll learn from that experience today. Q. How fit was Grant today? I saw him dry retch at one point. TIM SOUTHEE: Yeah, well, as far as I know he was fine. Yeah, I don't know that he was crook or anything during the week, but he seemed to get through training and everything okay leading into today. Q. Tim, the first 10 overs that Bangladesh faced, were you surprised at the patience they showed? That was the test approach to the first 10 overs while it was swinging around? TIM SOUTHEE: Yeah, as I touched on before, I think another day, we could have put ahead a couple of wickets, but they deserve some credit to getting through, I guess, a tricky early start. I think Trent had it on a string and they got through it and gutted it out, and once the ball stopped swinging it was a lot easier to face. I guess that was their mindset to go in, and we managed to grab two, but it would have been nice to grab a couple more and put the pressure right on them, but as I say, they deserve some credit for getting through that initial tough period. Q. Has the team had a chat in the dressing room, or what was the team reaction to how it finished tonight, and what did you make of the result? TIM SOUTHEE: No, we haven't had a chat yet, but I'm sure we'll have sort of a wrap-up after this. But as I said earlier, I think it's the sign of a good team to win another game in different circumstances, in different challenges that were thrown at us today. It's a sign of a good side when you can win from anywhere now, and it's good to keep that winning momentum going forward. Bangladesh played well. They're improving away from home, and they've shown in this tournament that they're here to play and here to compete. They were no easy beat, and we knew that leading to this game. Yeah, we're happy to get through pool play and beat them, but as I say, it all starts again in the knockouts. Q. Tim, you are now looking ahead to a game that's got a lot more riding on it. Does that mean there's going to be any change in approach and mindset for you guys in the next week? TIM SOUTHEE: No, I don't think so. I think what's worked well for us throughout this tournament is we have approached every game as if it's just another One Day International. Just because it's World Cup we haven't had to change the way we go about things. I'm sure this week is no different. Just because it's a quarterfinal doesn't mean that we have to change anything. It's just another game of cricket, and we'll approach it and attack it in the same way that we have the last six -- last couple years. It seems to be working, so nothing will change. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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