ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2022

October 30, 2022

Sean Williams

The Gabba

Zimbabwe

Post Match Media Conference

Bangladesh 150/7, Zimbabwe 147/8

Q. So the players of both teams shake their hands and then you needed to get back to the field. How weird was it?

SEAN WILLIAMS: It was extremely weird. Obviously I've never experienced something like that in a cricket match before, but again, it just goes to show in a T20 game, there's always a little bit of hope; anything can happen.

Q. It was quite a letdown did you think in terms of the fielding from the Pakistan game because that game for Zimbabwe was sensational for large parts in the field, and then there was quite a bit of sloppiness here; I wonder what your take on all that was.

SEAN WILLIAMS: 100 per cent agree with you. I think those are the areas where those little 1 per centers start to creep in, and when it's untidy, in particular the fielding, it tends to creep through into other things.

Today that was definitely the difference.

Q. Could you also talk about the strategy around promotion from Milton Shumba in the powerplay. Was there a particular game plan or role that he'd been given in the first three overs?

SEAN WILLIAMS: Look, Milton, I think he strikes the ball really well. He's a stroke player of the ball. He plays the fast bowlers really well, also. He's a good puller of the ball. I think just sort of splitting up the senior players through the batting order, as well, is an option for us. It just hasn't come off for him in the last two games.

But I think he's definitely got the ability and he's got the talent to do it.

Q. Blessing bowled quite well in the powerplay. Initially he was Zimbabwe's best bowler in that early spell and ended up not bowling. Was that strategic, or was there a fitness-related concern?

SEAN WILLIAMS: To be honest with you, I'm not 100 per cent sure, but what I can tell you is it was very difficult to face spin on that wicket, especially when the ball -- when it came slow through the air. It definitely had a little bit of purchase, not that much, but it was really hard to actually hit a boundary with the big boundaries out here at the Gabba. Yeah, it was difficult versus spin.

Q. If you could just talk about the partnership between you and Burl, and of course Shakib's run-out, what are your thoughts on that?

SEAN WILLIAMS: Well, the partnership between us, we talk about running, running between the wickets, obviously striking the ball and striking it clean here to get a six or a boundary was really hard. You had to hit the ball hard along the ground in the gaps to possibly get a boundary, but running hard, you still get to 12 runs and over.

So it was a game about fitness. I felt that if we could run hard and get a boundary in between that hard running and keeping composure through that fitness, because obviously you start to mentally fatigue through that, I felt like we always had a chance, and basically that's what our plan was.

When it came to do the run-out, geez, it could go any way, eh? One stump to Ahmed, you miss that, I'm running two, I'm still in. But wasn't to be. I misjudged the run badly and got run out. Unfortunately it didn't turn out too well for us.

Q. Just in the context of the tournament that you've had so far and notwithstanding the mistakes in the field, to have taken it so close and then had such a dramatic ending, can you put into words the emotion of what this loss has been like?

SEAN WILLIAMS: It's an emotional roller coaster, isn't it. Just cricket in general is an emotional roller coaster. From the first ball to the last ball, a lot happens. There's a lot of ups and downs, happiness, sadness throughout all that.

Just taking it game by game and day by day is important for us, and finishing today obviously we're unhappy, but it's an attitude for us that we've got to take the positive from today and move into tomorrow with that.

Q. What is the positive?

SEAN WILLIAMS: I think there's a lot of positives. Obviously getting through -- Blessing has bowled really well. I've managed to come out of quite a bad patch. There's so many things that I can't just pick them off the top of my head at the moment.

But losing is never easy; none of us like losing. I personally hate losing. But leaving the field empty is such a big thing for me, and as a senior player looking at the juniors, going out there and coming off the field, not saying I could have, should have and I would have is one of the biggest things.

Q. When did you first realise that the no-ball was a no-ball right at the end? And secondly, you're obviously on a real high after that Pakistan victory; was it a bit difficult to kind of get your feet back on the ground and refocused for today's game?

SEAN WILLIAMS: The first time I realised that there was a no-ball was actually when we were walking out to shake the umpire's hands, and they told us to stop and the replay came on the big screen, and then we all noticed that it was a no-ball. Very interesting times that.

Can you repeat your second question?

Q. After the win against Pakistan you were obviously on a big high. Was it difficult to get your feet back on the ground and refocused for today's game?

SEAN WILLIAMS: No, look, I think like I said earlier, we try and take things day by day. What's gone, we can't change anything from that, and just going back to the basics and sticking to what we do best is our strengths, and that's what we try to do.

Q. How do you evaluate your run chase, and do you think if Burl is able to be in the striking, it would be a different scenario?

SEAN WILLIAMS: A hundred per cent. Actually, to be honest with you, when I tried to take the single to Shakib, I was actually trying to get Burl build on strike. Already at that time in the game we were already trying to sort of say, okay, you've got to go here. If I can get a boundary, you can get a boundary, we'll win the game before the last over.

Q. Where Zimbabwe cricket can go from here after some exciting matches and exciting wins?

SEAN WILLIAMS: We can still carry on going up. There's only one way to go, and that's to continue learning and to continue growing. I think the squad that we've got here is an excellent bunch of people and human beings, and it's all about each other, and it's not about individuals, and I think that's the most important thing.

Q. The last time Shakib used (indiscernible) and the two fast bowlers. When you and Ryan were batting, was that also part of the plan to take it as deep as possible the last few overs and see what you can do against the spinner?

SEAN WILLIAMS: Yeah, definitely. I think the wicket, sort of it was keeping a little bit lower, lower than we expected it to. It was really different to Perth.

We felt that to take on the medium pacer was definitely the way to go, and then to sort of try and read the game with Taskin, see where he was going to go, and use his pace rather than fight it to the longer boundaries, which kind of worked for us, and to run hard between the wickets in that last five overs and take it deep. As a team and as an individual, really back Bill's hitting. Bill can hit the ball a long way, especially when it comes to spin.

I thought the Bangladeshis were really good there. They took a lot of pace off the ball. Shakib in particular bowled really well, and so did Mosaddek. That's just -- sometimes the game can go this way, or it can go the other way, and credit goes to the Bangladeshis today.

Q. You and Shakib have been playing for the last 16 years. Did you ever think it would come down to a World Cup picture where it would come down to the last ball? What was that like?

SEAN WILLIAMS: You make it sound like I'm very old, but it's just exciting. For us to just play -- to have played this long, it's a privilege. It's an honour. We're very gifted and grateful for the opportunities that we've had.

To still be on the park with him and to get down to that last ball, playing for our countries however many years later, it is. It's an amazing feeling.

Q. Sean, you still have every chance to make it through. You have your future in your own hands in a way. You've been part of many Zimbabwean dressing rooms. Does this Zimbabwean dressing room now feel like they belong with the big boys, and they can beat any team in any format, especially this one?

SEAN WILLIAMS: This is a very special dressing room to be a part of, I can't lie. Throughout from when I first started playing until today, walking into this dressing room definitely puts a smile on my face. Even before I even get there, hotel room packing my stuff, it's exciting to get into this dressing room and to training.

There's a different aura about it.

Yeah, this team can go places. The attitude that this team brings into certain things where things we may not have been dealt the best of cards, but the attitude that they bring to facing a situation like that, they're always bringing out the positive in something, no matter how bad something is, and that for me is huge. Just speaks volumes of them as individuals and as a group of players, as well, and that sets a very big example for people coming through, and I think they're going to go far.