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ICC WOMEN'S WORLD T20

November 23, 2018

Meg Lanning

North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda

Q. Meg, how are you feeling ahead of the final?
MEG LANNING: Really excited. We feel like we played well last night. We came here to play off in this final. We've given ourselves the opportunity now to win, and coming up against England, always great games. We know it's going to be extremely tough. The group's really been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time, and we just can't wait to get out there tomorrow night.

Q. What was the main feeling in the squad last night after that semifinal game?
MEG LANNING: Yeah, look, we enjoyed the win. I thought we played well. But at the same time, we were very, very clear that we had one more step to go. We've given ourselves the chance, I guess, but we need to make sure we get the job done tomorrow night. I thought the group really reacted extremely well. We enjoyed the opportunity last time to play in a big game against the West Indies. But we're very clear on what we want to achieve here.

Q. In terms of your own form, you seem to be building. Do you feel a big score is just around the corner?
MEG LANNING: Hopefully, yeah. I didn't feel great batting out there in the middle last night, sort of scratching around a little bit. But I guess it was a good partnership there with Midge to get us to a pretty competitive total there.

So, yeah, look, I feel like I'm hitting the ball well. It was nice to spend some time out in the middle, I guess, yesterday. But looking to improve on that tomorrow.

Q. Does that say something, though, that you're still able to play a role? I think there was one stage where you could have easily gone for the second, but you kept Healy batting in because she takes it in stride. Is that sort of how you were looking at it, or is that not how it looked?
MEG LANNING: Look, it turned out that we ended up getting to a decent total. The week was difficult to start on especially, so I guess that partnership there was important. But, yeah, I guess in T20 cricket, you always feel like you need a few more runs, and you want to get the game moving along quickly. My mind was racing along out there to make sure we did that.

I guess we've spoken about this a lot as a team. It's about playing your role on the day. It might be different to what you've done in the past. It's making sure you do that really well. It might be a small role, but they're going to be really important in big games.

Q. Did you feel like you were taking a backseat?
MEG LANNING: Yeah, Midge was hitting it really well, as she has been all tournament. Trying to give her the strike as much as I can and score off of many balls was really important on that wicket. It was just adapting really well. And I felt like we did that really well out there.

Q. And your emotion out there. I heard lots of people commenting they haven't seen you like that before. What does it mean to you personally?
MEG LANNING: Look, I'm just really excited to be playing in a World Cup semi and now a final. This is why you play the game. You want to be involved in games like this. We've spoken a lot as a group about enjoying our cricket and really having a smile on our face and just embracing the opportunity that we've gotten.

I wanted to do that again yesterday, and that's what we'll be doing in the final as well.

Q. And you came out at number 3 yesterday. What was the thinking with that change?
MEG LANNING: Look, we just thought that was the best opportunity against the West Indies. It might change again tomorrow night against England. We've said all along that it will be dependent on who we play and the conditions as well as to what we go with our lineup.

That's the great thing about our batting is that we've got options and different people can play different roles. Again, we'll just have a look at what happens tomorrow and see what happens after that.

Q. You played a lot of cricket against England in the last 12 months. Is that an advantage for both teams that you know each other so well?
MEG LANNING: Yeah, I guess so. There's no hiding anymore. Every team knows everything about the individual players, and we know each other a little bit off the field as well due to WBBL and KSL. So we followed their progress through the group stage, and they've been playing some really good cricket. They played excellently last night.

We're very aware of the challenge that's we've got in front of us coming up against a really good team, and we're really excited about that.

Q. When you know a team so well, is there a temptation to change things up a little bit?
MEG LANNING: Look, I don't think so. We back our game in and the style of play that we have. I guess in big games it's just about being disciplined and making sure you're doing the basics for longer than the opposition, and we've spoken about doing that as a group. As I have, we're really confident in the way that we're playing at the moment, and it's just about going out there and making sure we're executing for the whole game and not having those lapses.

Q. Have you identified any main threats in the England lineup?
MEG LANNING: Oh, look, it's difficult to narrow it down to a couple. Jones and Sciver were great for them last night with the bat, and they're very dangerous. And Shrubsole's been very good for them with the ball. You don't get to a World Cup final without everyone contributing at different times. So we're not focusing on one or two. We know they're a really good unit. So we're going to have to make sure we're playing well and that we start off the game really well as well.

Q. In the game last night, India and England, we saw some dew in the second innings, which made the batting easy. Is that going to influence your selection as well as make the toss more important?
MEG LANNING: Look, England showed that you can chase down a total on that wicket, and they did that really well. I don't think it's going to play a massive role, the toss. We're confident in whether we bat our ball first. We've done both throughout the tournament and in recent series as well. We don't mind what we do first. We back our game plan in, and we just want to go out there and show what we've got, I guess.

We've worked really hard over the last year or so to get ourselves into this position, and now it's just about going out there and really embracing the game and the stakes that we're on and playing some really good cricket.

Q. You talked about playing with a smile on your faces. Can you elaborate on that?
MEG LANNING: Look, it's just about enjoying what you do. I don't think it's any secret that, if you have fun and enjoy what you do, that you're going to probably have more success. So it's been a theme of ours over the last year or so to make sure we're enjoying each other's company, enjoying the stage that we're on, and really just, as you said, having that smile on our face and taking the game on because that's what suits this crew the best, and I think we've shown that over the last little bit, that it works for us, and we'll be doing the same thing tomorrow night.

Q. Meg, you had a considerable amount of team success not long after you joined the Australian setup. Given that it's been four years between drinks, as it were, will tomorrow be the sweetest picture in your career so far?
MEG LANNING: Look, it will be amazing to be able to win tomorrow night. That's why you play the game and why you put so much hard work into your training and becoming better cricketers and better people. We're just looking forward to the opportunity that we've got. We know there's a lot of hard work to go between now and the end of the game to make sure we get the result we want, but as I said, we're confident in the way that we're playing, and we're going to make sure that we go out there and stick to that and try and put on a show for everyone. I think that's the most important thing.

Coming up against England, they're great rivals of ours. We play them a lot and really respect them as a team. Hopefully, it's a great game, but we can come out on top.

Q. In terms of selection, is there a temptation to throw in an extra spinner, Jess Jonassen, given the conditions we saw yesterday, a slower track?
MEG LANNING: That will all be talked about, I guess. We are playing on a different wicket. We'll need to assess that. We've got training here this afternoon. We'll have a look at that. But we do have 15 players to pick from, which is a great thing heading into a big game. We'll just see what the wicket is like and then see if we need to make any changes from there.

Q. Alyssa Healy has been phenomenal this tournament, but does it worry you at all that perhaps as a team you're over reliant on her with the bat?
MEG LANNING: No, not at all. As you said, Alyssa's been in great form throughout and is really enjoying her cricket. But I don't think we're relying on her. She's just taking her opportunity and running with it. I've got no doubt that, if someone else gets the opportunity tomorrow, that they'll be able to do it just as well.

We've got great batting depth within our side. We've got Ellyse Perry at 7 and Rachael Haynes at 6, who have only been facing a couple of balls here and there. As I said, that's one of our strengths. We want to use it as much as we can. If it's not Alyssa's day tomorrow, I'm sure someone else will step up.

Q. You talked about the great rivalry that you share with England, and that presumably brings quite a lot of psychological baggage. Do you think that a player like Sophie Molineaux, who doesn't have that going into tomorrow, might be an advantage?
MEG LANNING: Look, nothing much flusters Sophie, to be honest. She's a very calm character and really clear on what she wants to do. So she's fitting in really well. I think Georgia Wareham is in the same boat. She hasn't been flustered at all and is just enjoying being around the group.

I guess, adding some youth to our team, some new players has worked really well for us over the last 12 months. They've added some good variation, and have also really added to our team off the field. They've been going extremely well, and they're looking forward to the opportunity to play in a big game, and we're looking forward to going out there and playing with them.

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