ICC T20 WORLD CUP 2022

November 3, 2022

Joshua Little

Perth Stadium

Ireland

Pre Match Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you for joining us for this prematch press conference with team Ireland.

Q. I'm just looking to your match against the Black Caps New Zealand tomorrow. They are coming off a loss to England. Is this a real chance to try and cause an upset and knock them out of the tournament?

JOSHUA LITTLE: 100%. We had a couple of good games against them back during the summer back home in Ireland. There's no reason why another upset couldn't be caused.

The boys are feeling good, and I'm hoping to grab another scrap tomorrow.

Q. Just one on this tournament in January. We have seen I think every team has had a loss except for South Africa. When you think about where T20 is going, every two years is going to be a World Cup. That's the way of this game. Do you get excited about where cricket might be heading in terms of broadening its horizons?

JOSHUA LITTLE: 100%. At the end of day we want to be playing in as many big competitions as we can and playing on the world stage in front of thousands.

You only have to look back at the other night in the Gabba, 20,000-odd. Stuff like that is exactly what everyone wants to do day in and day out. The more of that the better.

Q. (Indiscernible) your team excitement when you win against West Indies and England as well.

JOSHUA LITTLE: Yeah, no, we were all obviously very excited. That West Indies game was a do-or-die game for us. So to beat them in Hobart was absolutely amazing and something we'll never forget.

Then almost to the same extent with England. Playing England as an Irishman is always a big game, a big occasion. To win there is something very special. As I said about the West Indies game, something we'll never forget.

Q. Obviously, you would have liked to have beaten Australia at the Gabba, but the fact that they had about 5 for 25 and you were able to come back is one of the reasons that they find themselves in a very tricky run rate situation. Is there some satisfaction in knowing that even when you haven't got the wins, you've been competitive enough to kind of really shake up this group?

JOSHUA LITTLE: Yeah, 100%. We actually spoke about it. If you look back at couple of years ago, if you saw an issue side 25 for 5, you would think, well, that game is done. You turn off the TV.

We were saying we've come so far to actually get to where we got to and see Lorcan got that 70 out of 40 or whatever it was and show the Aussie boys that a couple of our boys are right up there. To do that was very pleasing and sets the boys in good stead for what's to come.

Q. I guess this game against new New Zealand, clearly you'll be going out to cause an upset. Is there also a thought, though, that you can be no matter what competitive enough that it still could have an impact on what happens in this tournament?

JOSHUA LITTLE: 100%. I think if you just look at the tournament so far, you've seen upsets nearly every day or every second day, if you can even call them upsets anymore.

Everyone is pretty competitive. It's a World Cup. Anything can happen. Yeah, we're going out there fully confident hoping to get a win tomorrow.

Q. I know you have spoken about this before. Just bowling in these conditions, from ground to ground conditions change so much, the bounce on the pitch, the moment in the air.

Has it just been fun for you bowling during this tournament?

JOSHUA LITTLE: Yeah. I guess you could say that. As you said, it's very different. Even the dimensions of the grouped are very different.

Like, for example, in Hobart and here in Adelaide it's a short and square. Whereas if you look at the MCG, it's massive square. It's an 80-meter hit square.

You sort of need to just keep up with the games that are going on and do your homework and sort of go out and assess the conditions while you are playing. And the team that does that best is going to be the team that I suppose progresses the most in the tournament. It's about learning on the job and, as you said, also enjoying.

Q. You want to sum up your own tournament? Are you happy with your form, sum up your own tournament?

JOSHUA LITTLE: I don't think I'll ever be fully happy. I've had a couple of games where things didn't really go my way.

Overall, yeah, I've been pretty happy with where I'm at the moment. I do think, obviously, there's always room for improvement, as we look at the Sri Lanka game and a couple of other games.

Yeah, no, overall, I'm enjoying it.

Q. The fast bowling group have really stuck together, and it's quite a good group with the return?

JOSHUA LITTLE: 100%. We're a very close bunch. We go out for dinner most nights and stuff like that. When you form a friendship and bond like that, it makes it a lot easier to stay together on the pitch when things aren't going your way. You can have a bloke to lean on and look for some advice. I think that's very crucial.

Q. A busy year next year. You obviously would be keen to keep your franchise commitments going. How important is that to you?

JOSHUA LITTLE: Well, I think playing for Ireland is always the priority and whatever comes after that is sort of a bonus. I guess just sort of working with whatever franchise it might be and Cricket Ireland to see if the availability is there. If it's not, I'll be playing for Ireland. So, yeah, it's as simple as that really.

Q. Anything confirmed for next year?

JOSHUA LITTLE: I do, yes, but I'm not going to be disclosing that here (laughing).

Q. (Indiscernible) obviously, it's taken a lot of criticism. You obviously had success in it. Do you think there's a place for it in the calendar?

JOSHUA LITTLE: Yeah, I think it's an enjoyable competition that gets people watching cricket that might not necessarily like longer format cricket. I think it's a short, sharp game that's full of entertainment and enjoyment. It's only a month long, so I don't see why not.

Q. Kane Williamson is copping a bit of criticism back here, more around his strike rate of innings at this tournament. How do you guys approach someone like Kane Williamson, and does he still have the aura that he has had for a long time in the game?

JOSHUA LITTLE: Yeah, of course, he does. He is a world class batter and probably always will be.

Yeah, we'll have a look tonight and do some homework and try to come up with a plan that hopefully no one has ever seen before. But, no, I think it's about these good guys keeping it as simple as possible and executing as best as you can.

The strike rate thing really isn't an issue. He is a world class player, as I said, and has had success in the T20 format, so I wouldn't look into that too much.