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ICC WOMEN'S WORLD T20

November 8, 2018

Stafanie Taylor

Georgetown, Guyana

Q. Stafanie, at a previous press conference you said you weren't certain if you were going to have Deandra Dottin opening. After yesterday's warm-up, are you clear about that?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: Well, yeah, I'm pretty much -- I'm pretty much happy with what I've seen so far. We didn't really try something like this before, and I think that seeing her in action last night was pretty good. It would help her a bit more with confidence level.

Q. Anisa Mohammed has also obviously been a legend for you and she seems to have got form again which is getting wickets in clumps. Can you talk about the role she has on the team?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: Anisa has been around for a long time, even before this whole group. She started playing for the West Indies at the age of 15. She does play a big, big, big role in this team. Because of her experience you could see how that is coming in to the whole group. And I believe that everyone respects Anisa. And she's just a big part of, a big part of the team.

Q. Saw a change in the wicket-keeper role yesterday as well? Is that something you plan to take into the tournament?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: Not necessarily. We have about four wicket-keepers in this side, and we just give another player a chance out there and see how it goes. But nothing permanent or to say that that's exactly what we're looking for or that's exactly what we're looking at.

Q. Stafanie, in the build-up to the tournament that faker report was relating to the women's game and where they sort of rank -- Australia, they say is the only professional setup in the world; England and India, semi-professional. Everyone else is in this group -- is seen as kind of this setup as not too much more than amateurs still. Does that concern you that they could end up being this, I guess, the haves and have-nots in the world game? How important is it for places like the West Indies, boards like the West Indies to try and increase the professionalism of the game when a country like Australia is sort of going in leaps and bounds like that?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: Well, if you look at Australia, over the years, they've been performing very well. I think when you look at how we rank -- in terms of money, I think, I believe West Indies don't have that sort of money like Australia. They have tried their very best in terms of giving players contract. And every year they review it and it increases little by little. And I believe it will get better. It might not be the standard of the men. But we hope that one day it will get to a point where professional.

Q. And also does the competition like the Women's T20, Australia don't hold any of the major tournaments, and you guys do. You're defending. Does this format, in particular, really open it up because you can have match winners, a couple of match winners in each side, and particularly in this format, that almost makes a mockery of that whole some countries have more money than others?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: Well, yeah, every team does have one or two players or even three players who, you know, could take the game away just like that. And I believe that is good. But as I said, when you look at Australia team, even before, know that they've been performing very well and I believe that that contributes to how they get paid and with other teams coming through, I believe that it will get there. So, small steps.

Q. How do you plan to deal with the added pressure of being defending champions? And are teams going to come after you to defeat you?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: I think, not just playing at home or even defending champions, I just believe as the West Indies what we bring to the table, we do get that -- people coming after us, even, because people have West Indies team as one of the teams to beat. So take away the fact that we're at World Cup, we go anywhere West Indies is one of the teams to beat.

So, yeah, there's a bit of pressure. There's a bit of expectation. I think it's just how we manage that. And I'm trying to manage that within the group and just think about our game and how we want to play, and just go out there and play our style of cricket.

Q. With the globalization of cricket, do you still think there's any edge being in the, you're playing in the Caribbean, or is everyone on even grounds?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: Go again.

Q. With the globalization of cricket, do you think the home advantage matters or do you think more teams have been acclimatized well enough to play with you, top level?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: I think it does matter. When we play at home, we know the conditions very, very well. And I think that does give us an edge over all the teams. But saying that everyone is here to win that trophy and I know that everyone will play hard just like how we're going to.

Q. Stafanie, apart from the home advantage, like, in terms of the pitch, but surely you expect to get some quite good crowds for West Indies games. I know tomorrow there's a concert at the ground and Guyana. People love their cricket. Will that really boost the team's morale?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: When you look at a team, the whole Caribbean, we love a bit of music that vibrancy is good and I feel when we hear a bit of music that kind of pumps us up and we are ready to get ready to rock and roll.

Q. Even without any music yesterday, the girls are hitting the ball really hard. That was some very attacking batting. Do you think that you've got a more aggressive style with the bat than other sides, fearless?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: We do have fearless players in the group. One of those plays, Nata McLean, she has a mind I've never seen before. And I think she brings a lot, a lot to the team. And it's good to see from a young player coming through.

Q. You play a night game which is great for the crowds but you're going to play on a pitch that is 80 years old. Is that part of your preparation in -- have you thought about that in the last couple of days?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: Yeah, we have thought about that. But we also have the experience of the coaches who would have been in CPLN and travel around the Caribbean, especially in Guyana here. So we talk about that and we have plans to hold -- we're going to go forward.

Q. Despite the warm-up match last night, it's been seven years since you played at Guyana, do you still think that would allow you a home advantage, per se?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: Well, that's a good question because I even think about, or I even thought about, that's been so long. Yeah, I mean Guyana Providence is basically fairly new and what we have seen last night is pretty much what we expect and I don't believe that it will change so much. I mean, we're playing in the night. So when you think about the conditions due, I think it will be for both teams. But I guess the team that would play last, bowl last, might be the worst. But we just have to go out there and try to do what we can and just play what we see.

Q. Prior to this tournament, you guys played against South Africa. What are some of the positives you guys took from that series heading into this tournament?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: The fact that Hayley Matthews scored a hundred, I think that was a big plus in the group. She's young talent coming through and it's good boosting her confidence. I'm pretty much happy with our fitness level. I think we've as a team maybe struggling in that aspect. So I believe that was, that's been good.

Q. Stafanie, obviously the World Cup was a real disappointment after 2016 which was such a high sort of to have done this. But did what happened in England, has that led to any kind of soul searching within the team to give you sort of extra impetus to defend your T20 title?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: Well, we know that 50-over, we struggle a little bit where that is concerned. T20, you know, it's more of our game and we try to look at that aspect of the game, not focus too much on what happened last year, because that's the past. And T20 is here. And we're defending champions.

So we're looking at it like we're defending a title, which we won two years ago. So not focusing on what happened in England, just go out there and focus on play hard and retain the title at home.

Q. Playing at home and the first stand-alone women's ICC Women's World T20 and you're defending champions, what do you expect from the support across the islands?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: I believe the support will be good. And I also should thank ICC. I think it's a good initiative that in Saint Lucia they'll be having busss, to and from fans -- oh, it's here, in both? So I think that's a good initiative that ICC, getting fans to and from the ground to come and support. I believe the support would be good.

Q. Stafanie, one last thing, we know you're fond of reading. What are you reading currently?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: What I'm reading currently. "The New Earth" by some -- it's more like a yoga book. I'm trying to get into yoga, into meditation and stuff like that. And for the past few months that I've been doing yoga, it has been doing -- it has been good. And I enjoy doing it.

Q. What is the name again?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: "A New Earth." "A New Earth."

Q. Since you guys have only one Guyanese on this squad how important is Shemaine Campbelle on the team?
STAFANIE TAYLOR: She's very good in the outfield. I could send Shemaine anywhere in the field. She's quick on her feet and she's a big part of this group as well, because she's been around, maybe not 10 years like everyone, but been around long enough and batting in the middle there, she's pretty much a stabiliser and can go big when you ask her to do so.

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