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ICC WOMEN'S WORLD T20

March 5, 2020

Dane van Niekerk

Sydney, New South Wales

Australia - 134/5, South Africa - 92/5 (DLS Method)

Q. Dane, can you just point to the words, the emotions, feeling right now, so near, yet so far, I guess?
DANE VAN NIEKERK: Should I say my emotions? Everybody kind of knows that it's very upsetting. The team is quite distraught at the moment. It's now the second time that we've come really close in a semifinal. It's just that we didn't get over that hurdle. So, yeah, everybody's hurting, and that hurts me.

Q. In a game that comes down to such fine margins, it's often difficult, but can you pinpoint any moments in that game that stick out at the moment?
DANE VAN NIEKERK: I cannot. As a team, we came here to play cricket. We did not look at the radars. We did not look at the weather. We felt like, if you want to go to the final, we have to beat the best in the world. Everybody was up and about and ready to play the game. I cannot fault my teammates one bit in any facet of their game. I have to give credit where it's due.

Australia bowled really well. They bowled to their plans, and they restricted us. Yeah, that's where it should be.

Q. Dane, you said you didn't look at the radar and tried to put that out of your mind, but I guess in a situation where you have a long stoppage going into the second innings and play is slow at the start of the game, does that sort of work against a team that a washout who does get them referred to the final, I guess?
When you've got stoppages for play like that, like we had twice tonight, does that mentally work against you, perhaps knowing that a washout does get you through?

DANE VAN NIEKERK: Yeah, obviously, I'm not going to sit here and lie and say you don't think about it, but I have to give credit to the ground staff. They did absolutely everything to keep us on the park. And, again, we are here to play cricket. I'd rather lose than get a free pass into the World Cup Final.

Q. Arriving at the ground, did you honestly think you would get a game today, given the weather in Sydney?
DANE VAN NIEKERK: Funny enough, yes. Again, I knew it's a big game in the context of the World Cup. No stone will be left unturned to get the game on the way. So, yeah, I had a feeling we'd get on the park, and everybody stayed focused. Everybody did their pre-match prep. It's good that we could get the first 20 in, and it's good that we got a game in.

Q. In a shortened game like this, were you not tempted, or did you consider the possibility of sending somebody like a Chloe Tryon way above than Number 6?
DANE VAN NIEKERK: No. I feel like Sune and Wolvy did really well. They changed the momentum there in the middle of the back end of the innings. I was still quite confident when Chloe went out there even with the last over. It's three hits away, especially for somebody with her power. Unfortunately, she miscued a full toss, and nine out of ten times, she'll hit that probably onto the roof.

That's the nature of the game. It's never easy to come in and just swing away. No matter how strong you are. So, no, I think Chloe came in at the right time. I think the second to last over was bowled brilliantly. So I think that stopped the momentum a little bit.

Q. How do you sustain the confidence of somebody like a Laura Wolvaardt, who was one of your standout performers at the 2017 World Cup. She did kind of fall right in 2018. This time around she was phenomenal. Some of her strokes were perhaps picture perfect. How do you keep somebody so young as her, yet so talented, keep her going, keep her motivated, as captain?
DANE VAN NIEKERK: I don't have to. She's a smart kid, first of all. She loves the game of cricket. The fact that she gave up medicine to play cricket, that says a lot. Like I said, she loves cricket. She wants to bat all the time. She gets upset when she doesn't bat. She gets upset when she sits on the side, and it showed in this World Cup. She wanted to be out there. She actually apologised for not getting the last runs. She couldn't have done anything more.

No, I think for someone like her, it's easy. To play for a country is always there, it's for every player. She's been brilliant. She's been my pick of the tournament as well. She's been brilliant.

Q. How close was Marizanne to playing today? Did the fact you were then able to restrict Australia to 130-odd give you confidence in the depth of bowling you now have?
DANE VAN NIEKERK: Yeah, she was pretty close. As I said, we do not take chances on health. It doesn't matter how important the game is. Hopefully, in the near future, we'll be in the same situation, and she'll be there. I can say I was with her when the decision was made, and it was very difficult to get her to accept the no. She was also in tears and very emotional.

Yeah, I have to give credit to Nadine De Klerk. What a standout performance tonight with the ball. She came to me. She had a plan. It's always nice when a bowler comes to you and they're so confident with what they want to do. She didn't get much time to play, and it shows you the quality we have. She picked up her hand incredibly well. Yeah, I was very happy with the bowling innings, incredible figures.

Q. Dane, that kind of a decision, where you put the health of the player above the importance of a game, talks about essentially policies or a team culture that you have. What is this culture, and how has it evolved since that 2017 semifinal up to a World Cup in 2018 where you didn't get to the semis but now you're back. Talk to us about the evolution of that culture.
DANE VAN NIEKERK: Yeah, everybody probably knows our hashtag, and it's We Are More. So the culture of this team is we're more than just cricketers. We're wives, we're daughters, we're sisters, we're aunts. We're a lot more than that. So for us, that comes first, and Kapp is my wife. So I'm definitely not going to jeopardize her health. So I think that sums it up. It's a game of cricket. For your health, I don't think it's worth it. She was dearly missed tonight, but, again, I can't take away anything from anyone.

As I said, the culture of the team is incredible. This team's incredible. I wish you guys could be in the changing room with us all the time.

Q. You're going to play Australia again really soon. Do you think you're really close to getting that first win over them now?
DANE VAN NIEKERK: I hope so. I really hope so. Yeah, I thought tonight was the night. It wasn't meant to be. I had a calm heart about tonight. When I came to the ground, no matter what happened, rain or shine, I was really calm. I knew, if it wasn't meant to be, it wasn't meant to be, and it wasn't.

I wish Australia and England all the best. I know it's going to be a cracking final. I wish I could be there in front of 90,000 people. I really hope you get the 90,000 people. This tournament deserves it.

Q. Dane, what just makes Australia so difficult to beat in these knockout games?
DANE VAN NIEKERK: I guess their experience in knockout games. I mean, let's be honest, we've only been in three. They've been in countless. But I have to give them credit. Their plans were spot on. The way they started the tournament to where they are now, it shows you the quality of their team. You can never write off the Number 1 team in the world, and they showed tonight why they are and how they came back at a stage where it was our game to win and their game to lose, and you can turn the tables.

It comes with experience, comes with confidence, and I believe they are the deserved Number 1 team in the world at the moment.

Q. Were you a bit surprised to see Jess Jonassen walk out to bat early in the innings there?
DANE VAN NIEKERK: I knew they were going to come with a left-right, left-right combination. We spoke about it in our team meeting. We didn't think that two right handers would be in the middle for a long period of time. So I wasn't surprised. I think she's a very good batter. She was brilliant in the Big Bash with her bat and the ball.

Yeah, we didn't take her lightly as well when she came in because she's cleared the boundary of my bowling a couple of times. Yeah, I wasn't surprised.

Q. And just very quickly finally, who's your tip to win on Sunday?
DANE VAN NIEKERK: Wow. Yes, if I say India -- if I say Australia, my social media is going to blow up. I'm actually too afraid. Look, both of the teams that's in there in the final is deserved finalists. I wish them the best. I'm not going to give a tip because I think it's going to be an incredible game of cricket.

Again, as I say, for me the big thing is that women's cricket get 90,000 fans. Women's cricket deserves it. It's been there for a long time. It's now the time for us, and obviously women's sport, to rise.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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