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ICC WOMEN'S WORLD T20

November 21, 2018

Meg Lanning

North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda

Q. How did Alyssa go at training today, and when will her availability for tomorrow be known?
MEG LANNING: Yes, from what I saw, she went really well. She was batting alongside me in the nets, and it looked like she was enjoying herself and hitting the ball well. Now we've just got to wait until I guess the morning to see how she pulls out from that. But all signs are really good at the moment. Yeah, she's ticked every box that she's needed to, but yeah, we just need to see how she goes in the morning before we make the final call.

Q. Have you had a chance to look at the pitch here yet to see what the conditions might be like?
MEG LANNING: Not yet, no. After this we'll head out and have a look. So yeah, that'll sort of dictate, I guess, how we go with our team. But yeah, we feel like whatever option we do go with that we're ready to go.

Q. How big will it be to have Midge available if she does get all ticked off tomorrow morning given the form she's been in all tournament?
MEG LANNING: Yeah, it would be great for her to be out there. She's been the form player of the tournament, made it look very easy at times. Yeah, it would be a massive boost for us if she is to be available, and as I said, everything is going to plan at the moment.

Q. Aside from that, how settled is the 11 looking? I know Taylor came in for Georgia last game. Is that bowling attack still being considered?
MEG LANNING: Yeah, we're going to have to assess what the conditions are like, so we'll have a look at the wicket and go from there. Obviously we're coming up against a different opposition in the West Indies, as well, so that'll be taken into account. We haven't made that final decision yet, but yeah, we feel like we've got really good options there to make sure we come up with what we think is going to be the best side.

Q. The West Indies, what do you think their X factor is?
MEG LANNING: They've got plenty of X factors. Dottin has been playing extremely well throughout with both bat and ball, and they've got a number of world-class players obviously led by Stafanie Taylor. We're very wary of them. We know that when they're on, they're very hard to stop, and we're expecting them to be on tomorrow. We know we're going to have to be really composed and make sure we're ready for what they're going to bring. But we feel like we've sort of prepared really well and we've got the options there when we need to use them.

Q. Taylor mentioned you might be out for revenge; is that the case?
MEG LANNING: Oh, look, coming up against the West Indies, we know they're a very dangerous team, and World Cup is always very difficult to win semifinals. It's a new game tomorrow. We're really excited about the opportunity that we've got to play in a World Cup semifinal in front of a really big crowd. It looks like it's going to be. So the atmosphere is going to be amazing, and we were speaking earlier today about just really embracing that opportunity. You don't get to get back here very often, so we're just really looking forward to the opportunity to come up against a good team and hopefully put on a good show.

Q. The over rate was an issue the last game. Does that weigh on your mind at all going forward knowing that another one results in a suspension for you?
MEG LANNING: Yeah, look, obviously we'll be looking to avoid that, but I haven't had any issues with it in the past. That was the first time I've sort of been in charge and we've fallen behind. Generally we've been very good in that area. We've spoken about some things we need to do to make sure we're getting through quickly, so yeah, I'm pretty sure that we won't have any issues in the game coming up.

Q. Would you say tomorrow's clash is between the two fittest teams of the tournament?
MEG LANNING: Yeah, look, we've done a lot of hard work over the off season to make sure that we're ready to go come the business end of the tournament, and we've got a full squad to pick from, and everyone is in really good shape. So we feel like we've adapted to the conditions really nicely, and we're looking forward to the challenge of coming up against the West Indies.

Q. You guys had an off day a couple of days back once you got here. What did you do?
MEG LANNING: I traveled around the island a little bit, just sort of was nice to not have a timeline, I guess, and just have some freedom and take your mind off things, I guess. That's the important part of free days is to make sure that you're switching off, and we got back into it yesterday and today, back to business. I feel like that balance that we've been able to get throughout this tour has been really good, making sure that we're switched on when we need to be and taking the time to relax when we can.

Q. And just trying to find out a little bit more about the players and where their stories come from. What made you pick the shirt number that you have?
MEG LANNING: The shirt number? Why did I pick it? Well, I like the number seven, and when I came into the squad, Rachael Haynes already had the number seven, I think, so obviously I had to choose a different number, and 17 was the first one that came up with the number seven, although if you speak to Clea Smith, she probably said that that was her number. I remember a couple years after I took it, she said that that was the number that she played in, and she actually came out of retirement and played a few more games, so yeah, that was a little bit awkward when she said that. But yeah, I just love the number seven.

Q. If Georgia was to get back into the side tomorrow, what does she bring to the team that you noticed from her so far?
MEG LANNING: Yeah, look, she's been really composed under pressure. I guess as a legspinner, you're going to get hit for some runs. That's just the nature of the game. But she's been able to get some really important wickets for us throughout the tournament, and that's what we brought her over her to do. We felt like a legspinner on our side is a really important thing and does offer that option of spinning the ball away from the right-handers. Yeah, she's definitely coming into calculations, and I think she's handled herself really well at her first really big tournament. If she was to get the nod, I'd have no worries about her being able to stand up on the big stage.

Q. A lot of people say that women's cricket is about how the players have played with no egos, outside of what you said, as well. Can you talk about the culture of respect that is there in women's cricket between teams?
MEG LANNING: Yeah, look, there is definitely that respect there. We've been playing a lot more cricket of late, as well, and playing against a lot of different teams, which I think is really important for the game. You do get to know, I guess, other players off the field, due to the WBBL and KSL and things like that. But once we get out on the field, I think the competitiveness is really there. But the respect is there, as well. It's a really great time to be involved in the women's game. I think it's growing all the time, and this World Cup is really showing that. Yeah, we're excited to be in a really big game, and I think the crowd has been amazing so far, and we're looking forward to them coming and watching the show.

Q. Have you spoken to the England players at all to find out what kind of crowd to expect?
MEG LANNING: No, we haven't spoken to the English. They're staying at a different place, and we haven't seen them. But yeah, we've been watching the games on TV and have seen that the atmosphere has been incredible and the home crowd is really getting behind their team. Yeah, it's great that it's been really embraced by the West Indies people, and we're looking forward to getting out there and playing in front of a really big crowd.

Q. Is that ever a factor in preparation?
MEG LANNING: Oh, look, we've spoken about the fact that it is going to be a big crowd and they are going to be supporting the West Indies, but we've also spoken about embracing that, and the fact that we do get to play on such a big stage in such a great atmosphere. You know, these opportunities don't come along very often, and it's going to be a really exciting game. I think two very exciting teams who hopefully can put on a really good show.

Q. The tournament is so close to the WBBL; what do you think the impact that's going to have on the WBBL?
MEG LANNING: To be honest with you, I haven't given it a lot of thought. It is pretty close timeline, but we're pretty focused on what we're doing here first, and once we sort of, yeah, finish up, we'll worry about that. But yeah, I think this tournament has been great so far. I think we've really enjoyed it. We're enjoying our cricket here, and once we hit that hurdle, we'll worry about that.

Q. Obviously there's some players in the team that have been here at the finals before, but you've got a bunch of newbies now and this is their first world event semifinal. How exciting is it for them being part of something like this?
MEG LANNING: Yeah, it's great. I think we've been able to introduce some new players to our squad who each bring something different. But I think the best thing about them is that they're really composed under pressure, and I just love them being here and being involved. We've spoken about the fact that it's a rare opportunity that we've got in front of us, and making sure that we really enjoy it. I think it's very easy to get caught up in worry, I guess, about the stage that you're playing on, but we're going out there to enjoy what we do. We feel really confident in the way that we've been playing and the way that our game stacks up, and it's now just about putting it out there in the park, and our squad is looking forward to that opportunity.

Q. You've been putting up more runs in comparison to your opponents, but you've also been fielding very well. How do you think that factors into the match?
MEG LANNING: Yeah, fielding is definitely going to play a really big role. When we looked at the ground yesterday, it looked quite bit, so yeah, especially our outfielders are going to have to be on their game. We feel like that's an area of strength of ours, our sort of ability to move in the field and create chances. We know that the West Indies are very good in that area, as well, so it's going to be a good battle. But I think it's going to definitely play a role, how well we field, and we're looking forward to that challenge.

Q. Also besides that, having faced them before, anything that you learned from the last match-up or any keys that you think your team has going forward into the match tomorrow?
MEG LANNING: Look, as I said before, they've got some world-class players who can take the game away from you really quickly, and we need to make sure that we're really on right from the start. You know, we're looking forward to the challenge that they're going to bring to us. The crowd are going to be up and about early, so we're going to have to make sure that we sort of settle that down and get into our game really quickly. But yeah, it's just going to be a great game, I think. We've got some superstars of the women's game playing, and we're looking forward to being a part of it.

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