ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2022

October 29, 2022

Anrich Nortje

Perth Stadium

South Africa

Pre Match Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Thank you all for attending this prematch press conference. We're joined by South Africa's Anrich Nortje. We will take questions from the floor first. Then we'll take some questions from Zoom.

Q. When a batter has a pure batting wicket, it really looks like (indiscernible). Same is the case with this wicket. You are to hold yourself back slightly. You should not go ahead when you look at the wicket like Perth?

ANRICH NORTJE: I think what we've seen the last few games, it's been a really good wicket. Lots of pace and bounce.

Still not sure what's going to happen, how it's going to play out. It might be a little bit different. Might be on a different strip and it plays differently, but I think generally we're just going to look to try and sort of keep our areas and try and sort of identify what is a good length and a good line on the day and try and stick to that.

Not try and do anything fancy. I think that's sort of our wording to that. Try and stick to our basics and sort of restrict -- get as many wicket as possible, obviously, but restrict the runs as much as possible.

I think it will be more just on the day just to see how it plays out, but as basic as we can be, yeah.

Q. Can you tell us something about the general conversations of the team about the top order really not clicking actually? What's the captain telling you, or what are others telling him, the coach, how to go about it?

ANRICH NORTJE: I think the guys have been batting really well. I think we've had very good starts, and the team has really been -- they've really been sort of stick to their game. Guys have been sticking to what they've been training, what they've been doing throughout the season, and it's just about executing.

So I think the team has really stuck well with their philosophy and structure about how to go about things. Hopefully we can continue the way we've been going.

Q. How does it feel to bowl the second fastest delivery in this tournament so far?

ANRICH NORTJE: It's a nice feeling, but it's not something I focus on. I try to execute as much as possible.

But, yes, something you work your whole life towards to bowl fast, so to be able to bowl fast and be one of the fastest, it's a nice feeling, but just have to focus on the job ahead and what we have to do rather than looking the at the speeds.

Q. (Indiscernible). Can the same be said about the South Africa base attack against India's top order batting?

ANRICH NORTJE: Yes, we back ourselves. We see ourselves as one of the best base attacks there is. I think we're definitely going to back ourselves.

We have a great variety. We cover a lot of aspects. We cover a lot of bases with our attack. Definitely as a base attack, we definitely back ourselves against any team to go out and do what we have to do on the day to try and get over the line.

Then we've got two young spinners as well. So we definitely back ourselves in that department, and I'm sure the boys are looking forward to tomorrow.

Q. Is there any thoughts on Virat Kohli's form, then Suryakumar Yadav's the terrific touch, and then obviously Rohit Sharma is back. Is there any special plan?

ANRICH NORTJE: Focused on what we have to do. That's all.

Q. How tough is it for a fast bowler not to get carried away on such kind of pitches where there's a pace and bounce, and what it takes to control your emotions at that point in time?

ANRICH NORTJE: Yes, with T20 cricket, hopefully somewhere in the future we can have two bounces and over. That would be unbelievable.

But on wickets like this, obviously, you have one bounce over, so you have to try and just sort of time it properly and, like you say, not to get carried away.

Sometimes it can look nice, but it's not effective. So try to be as effective as possible. Like you say, try to keep the emotions intact.

Yeah, just try and be calm in situations where I think adrenaline is flowing, and I think most of the time you should come out on top just as a bowler and from an execution point of view.

Q. Anrich, when South Africa comes to a World Cup, the first match gets rained out. All sort of things start running in your head. Then you go to Sydney. You see there's rain around, and you still make the pragmatic decision for that pitch, which is to bat first. How difficult is it to keep your mind off, hey, here we go again?

ANRICH NORTJE: When we saw the rain... when we were in the changing room, and they said it's raining again. When we got there, it was lovely weather. Got to the changing room, which is just underground, and it started raining again.

Just happy to have been able to get out. I think we quite think most teams are at a World Cup, but everyone is quite focused on what we have to do.

Once they say five minutes or ten minutes, everyone is ready to go. So I think once we got the opportunity to go out, everyone was ready to go and just to do what we have to do to try and get the win on the day.

Obviously, the first game didn't go according to plan, and it was so close. Yeah, just hopefully we can keep the momentum that we've got now and just take it into the next few games.

Q. No team goes into a World Cup thinking they cannot win, but is there something that everything is falling into place, you have most of the bases covered? Is there this kind of feeling, hey, this could be our time?

ANRICH NORTJE: Yes, I think we've been saying it for the last probably two seasons now. Last year as well we lost one game at the World Cup, and we were out of it. That was also a close game.

I think it's a really good team. The guys have been together for such a long time. Everyone knows sort of where they fit in. One or two guys that comes in, and they sort of fit into the roles that's maybe open or that can help the team give something different.

But I think all in all everyone sort of understands where everyone fits in and just what to do on the day and in certain situations. So it's just effective that we've been playing for such a long time and guys have been gelling really well.

We definitely think that the last two seasons has been a great team, and hopefully we can win the Cup this season.

Q. Just a last one from me. Do we see four fast bowlers tomorrow, and any chances we'll get a look at Jansen?

ANRICH NORTJE: You'll have to speak to the coach. I don't know. I have no idea (laughing).

Q. Since the game against Zimbabwe was washed out and you had to share points, in this World Cup a lot of matches are getting washed out due to rain. Each and every match you play and get to play the entire match becomes very crucial because you never know next match that you are playing is going to be played or not because it's going to get affected by wind or rain. So you think each and every match from here on after that washout of yours becomes all the more crucial?

ANRICH NORTJE: Definitely. We sort of said it afterwards. There's possibility of other games getting rained out. There's possibilities of maybe this and that happening, and then we could go through. Or we can just try and win all four or all of our games, and it makes it simple.

You sort of know day by day what you have to do. It's try and get the win.

To make it easier for ourselves and not to think too far ahead, taking it day by day by trying and get the victories on every game day, that's the only way forward.

We can't bank on another game to rain out maybe in a week's time to try and get through or to get closer. When we've got the opportunity to go for a big win, get the net, run it up, try and do that. And when we get the opportunity win, try and do that as soon as possible, obviously.

Q. How much of an over playing India earlier in the month in India and also playing in IPL will help you in tomorrow's game?

ANRICH NORTJE: Yeah, obviously, we ended off with early eyes in India, which was probably not ideal, but we were still playing cricket, most of us. There was two or three guys who weren't playing, which weren't ideal, but most of us were playing still.

So I think the fact that we were praying cricket helped us a lot going into Australia. It would have been nice to probably have that extra week like India did when they came just to assess conditions a bit.

But I do think most of our guys are also used to conditions in Australia. We come from South Africa. It's mostly difficult batting conditions. Lots of bounce at some of the stadiums. So we are sort of used to the conditions, and as bowlers, we've obviously played in it as well.

I think just the cricketing part, it was nice to play cricket leading up to the World Cup like most teams have done. Everyone has been playing T20 cricket. We played a few ODIs. Maybe we can see it in a positive light as well that we maybe bowled a little more than some other guys. Maybe we've been batting longer than some other guys.

Just to get that time in the middle which could be a positive thing. I think so far it's been really good. Guys have been in great form. Guys that haven't been playing, they're batting unbelievably well in the net. Sort of backing anyone, whoever comes in, whoever goes out. Really backing everyone to perform on the day.

Q. Just to add to the conditions a bit, how easy or difficult is it from a fast bowler's point of view to have these multiple time zones, this constant traveling, and then the rest and the recovery and the training? How do you adjust to that?

ANRICH NORTJE: Yes, it is. I would say after COVID, it's something to get used to again, but also with the schedule nowadays, there's so much traveling.

Your rest days have become your traveling days, so there's no real rest day anymore. It's a travel day, then a training day before getting used to conditions, and then you play again.

So, yes, it's quite tough on the bodies. Luckily, it's only 4-overs, but it's also at a very high intensity, so it's hard to say how it affects us.

It's not easy, but I think we've sort of come to deal with it now, and you just focus on what you have to do rather than overthinking things and not having that complete off day like we had maybe during bubbles where you could have a full day off, but then also you couldn't go out. It's nice to leave your floor in the hotel as well. It's give and take.