ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2022

October 22, 2022

Devon Conway

Sydney Cricket Ground

New Zealand

Post Match Media Conference

New Zealand - 200/3, Australia - 111

Q. Devon, probably one of the highlights of that performance, actually apart from your batting, was in the field. New Zealand's fielding was exceptional. Is that something your team has specifically worked on a lot in the T20 game recently?

DEVON CONWAY: Yes, certainly. We just recently played a Tri-Series in Christchurch before we came here, and we sort of felt our fielding wasn't quite up to scratch. We just sort of looked to rectify that in this game. It was a pretty good performance by the fielders and everyone out there.

Q. And Glenn Phillips' catch was a special highlight?

DEVON CONWAY: Yeah, a special catch. When that ball was in the air, I didn't think he was going to get there, to be honest with you. The speed that he's got was pretty special, and the timing of the dive was a fantastic catch for us and certainly a game-changing moment.

Q. Devon, the vagaries of T20 make it hard to play a perfect game. Was that close to a perfect game?

DEVON CONWAY: Yeah, I think for us it's close to a perfect game as a collective unit. We always say we want to start well, put teams under pressure. I think the way Finn Allen batted in the front was tremendous and put them under pressure.

We did well with the ball as well. We put it into good areas, put them under pressure. Yeah, it was a pretty good game for us to start the tournament.

Q. I was going to ask about Finn as well. I know he's played quite a bit of international cricket now. A World Cup game, first game post-Australia, SCG, just how impressive, stunning at the other end was what he did in those first four or five overs?

DEVON CONWAY: It's a serious effort from him today the way he was out in the middle, nice and calm and relaxed and focused at the same time. I've seen him perform like that a number of times, playing with him, alongside him in Wellington.

Yeah, it was a special knock for him. He hit the ball really cleanly, and like I say, just put the bowlers under some serious pressure. It's a fantastic way to start the tournament.

Q. I just wondered if there's anything that the two of you talked about before you went out there to bat? Is it just a coincidence that this is the first time that both of you have played at T20 International in Australia against Australia? Or was there some kind of advantage in the unfamiliarity of the situation?

DEVON CONWAY: Yeah, I think it was certainly coincidence that we both played our first game internationally in Australia tonight, but yeah, like I say, I sort of played a lot of cricket alongside Finn playing at Wellington Firebirds and opening the batting with him.

We certainly try and keep the columns the exact same throughout. We try to keep it nice and simple. I know what ticks for him, and he certainly knows what ticks for me. We sort of try and reiterate those messages to each other out in the middle.

Then it's just about trying to do the job as a team, as a partnership. It was a good knock for the two of us.

Q. I guess by coincidence I almost mean that so many people talk about the record of New Zealand and Australia, but the two of you come in without any of that. Does that make a difference, or is it kind of irrelevant?

DEVON CONWAY: I think it's irrelevant for us. We're just playing another game of cricket, and it happens to be at the SCG against Australia, and we just try to keep a nice clear focus. We just try to play it like another game of cricket and watch the white ball as close as you possibly can and just try and do a job for the team.

Q. Devon, you've spoken about your partnership with Finn back at Wellington. You guys have played together quite a bit now. When you got paired together for New Zealand, was the talk very much to continue the way you both play for Wellington, or was there an adjustment to the approach?

DEVON CONWAY: No, we just try to keep it the exact same. I know he's a clean striker of the ball, and I'm sort of that player that likes to sort of bat around him and try and get him on strike as much as possible.

We always try to say this, try to get the team off to a good start. I think that's probably one of our key roles in the first six to try to maximise the power play as best as possible.

Nothing really changes. I say to him to try to play with freedom, and he tries to say the same to me. Yeah, we just try and take that into any game we play.

Q. Devon, you spoke about your relationship and your partnership with Finn Allen, but just the dynamics between that partnership and the dynamic you have with Kane Williamson, how different are they? And do you think it worked out perfectly today after that quick start, you could kind of consolidate with Kane?

DEVON CONWAY: Yeah, every partnership is unique in its own way. Like I say, Finn is a very clean striker of the ball. I know he's going to deal in boundaries more often than not. When that happens a bit with Kane, he sort of plays it the way he plays it.

So the communication between the two of us or the three of us sort of changes slightly. I think it's more dictated by the situation of the game.

I think Kane sort of came in right towards the end of the power play. Once we got through the power play, it was about sort of taking over in a smart way trying to maximise the fielders moving out of the circle.

Yeah, just whatever we try to do, we try to keep in a positive mental approach. Yeah, it's really cool sort of batting alongside each player because everyone's different and the partnership's unique in that way.

Q. Did you learn -- you said you were playing your first T20 International in Australia. Just how it works here, you hit a lot of boundaries, but there's a lot of quick twos and threes as well that you ran. How important is that, do you think, as you build that innings?

DEVON CONWAY: It's very important for us. It's one of the things we talk about as a batting unit. We know that the grounds in Australia are certainly quite big, so there are a lot of pockets in the field to try and maximise those twos. Especially after the power play, it's about trying to buck smart as a partnership , trying to grab those twos while you can whilst still trying to score a boundary every now and then.

Yeah, it's just one of those things that we talk about as a batting unit.

Q. On the big three fast bowlers, as they're kind of called out here with Starc, Cummins, and Hazlewood, not many people have gotten on top of them the way you and Finn did today. What were the things that you identified as being important, and did that kind of play out in the middle?

DEVON CONWAY: I think we certainly know they are the big three there. Classy bowling attack, the three of them together.

I have to give a lot of credit to Finn the way he played because the way he played and the way he put them under pressure allowed me to get those balls that were slightly looser. In T20 cricket, if you put bowlers under pressure, no matter how good you are, it's obviously quite a tough gig.

Like I say, I think a lot of credit has to go to Finn for the way he played from ball 1. I think ball 2 he hit one for a boundary, and we were away. Yes, again, massive credit to Finn.

Q. Devon, I know whenever you play a game, there's always multiple players you've got to be worried about in the opposition, but when you come against an Australian side without Steve Smith, does that feel like you've been kind of cut a break?

DEVON CONWAY: Not necessarily, to be honest. Personally I just sort of look at who the bowlers are I'm playing against. My role doesn't really involve sort of identifying opposition batters.

Yes, I am involved in the scouting, and we sort of talk about where the other players are going to bat, but to answer your question, we just saw the 11 that they picked, and we just sort of played whoever they presented to us. So we didn't really look too much into it.

Q. Devon, can I ask the difference I guess mentally winning the tournament makes for you guys now as opposed to last year where you had a run of four must-win matches in a row to make the finals. Does it clear your mind in the way you approach games differently, do you think, or is it just a weight off the shoulders in some ways?

DEVON CONWAY: Nothing changes for us. We've got a process we try and stick to. Every game is another game. We've got to focus on the things we can control and take each day as it comes. We don't look too far in the future.

As I say, nothing really changes. We just sort of buck smart and look forward to the next game in Melbourne.