00:01Laura, congratulations on making it to the semifinals of what has been probably the most
00:05open World Cup yet.
00:07So excited are you to play the semifinals and how big a challenge Cingland is going to pose
00:12at home?
00:13Yeah, super excited.
00:15I think what's exciting about it is we've made the semis and we probably haven't even
00:19been at our best as a team yet.
00:21I think we've found a way to win games, which has been good, been on the winning side more
00:27often than not.
00:29And yeah, super excited to play tomorrow.
00:31I think I know it'll be a pretty sold-out crowd supporting the opposition, so it'll be a nice
00:36challenge for us.
00:38But yeah, getting to play the hosts in a tournament is always pretty exciting.
00:42I think they'll have a bit more pressure on them with all of that support, so hopefully
00:46we can put together a good game of cricket.
00:49And looking back at the campaign so far, what are the things do you think that really worked
00:54for you and maybe the areas that you may have to work a bit more on?
00:58I think our bowling has been pretty good.
01:00I think different phases and different games, but I think having Kappian should be up early
01:05in the power play has been a big boost for us.
01:09Been able to strike early in the power play.
01:10And then I think in the middle in death overs, we've been able to sort of really keep teams
01:15quiet.
01:15I think we had a number of games where even if they did get off to a decent start, we're
01:19able to bring it back nicely.
01:22With the bat, we probably haven't been at 100%.
01:26I think all of our batters will admit they'd like to score a bit more runs.
01:30But I think it's a good thing and a pretty exciting thing because when they do come off, hopefully
01:37in the next game, it'll be a pretty good game.
01:46So yeah, just a couple of, I mean, a lot of these wins that have come against Pakistan,
01:51Bangladesh, it became a little difficult towards the end.
01:54How do you sort of address that kind of a concern with the team moving into these knockouts
02:00where there might be tougher positions heading?
02:03Yeah, a little bit frustrating in those games where we probably could have gotten over the
02:07line a bit easier.
02:09But I think at the end of the day, we won.
02:11We got the points in the bag and we're moving forward.
02:14We have definitely chatted about it, though, that if we do find ourselves in a similar position
02:18to maybe kill the game earlier, I think we're blessed with a lot of power in our lineup.
02:25So we sort of have that opportunity to go a bit harder earlier.
02:29And yeah, maybe tomorrow at the Oval suits us a bit better.
02:32Maybe we're able to finish it better.
02:34And just a curiosity about Dani, the bowler.
02:38We haven't seen much of her.
02:40Any reason that she's not been bowling lately?
02:43Dani?
02:44Yeah.
02:45Oh, Dani.
02:47No, she's not bowling at the moment.
02:49Yeah, so she's just a batter for this tournament.
02:54Hi, Laura.
02:54Can I just ask you about your own batting?
02:56A couple of scores in the 40s, one of them against Australia.
02:59Do you feel like you're due for a bigger one than that in the big game?
03:04I hope so.
03:06Yeah, probably a bit annoyed with my tournament because I felt like I was in pretty good form
03:09coming into the competition and then had a couple of frustrating knocks, maybe just
03:14trying to hit it a bit too hard.
03:16But I guess that's just the pressure of a World Cup is it's hard to stay super calm and
03:22chilled.
03:23But yeah, hopefully I'm able to do it tomorrow.
03:25I think it's not like I've forgotten how to bat.
03:27I think it's just maybe one or two things haven't gone my way and then got a bit frustrated
03:32in the middle.
03:32So I think just need to stay nice and calm tomorrow and maybe one or two nice shots and
03:37then I'm back.
03:38So, yeah.
03:39You guys are very experienced at getting through semifinals at big tournaments now.
03:43What are you drawing from those past experiences for this one?
03:47Yeah, I think we've been able to beat England twice in knockout phases in World Cups.
03:53So it's not like it's super foreign territory for us.
03:57I think we can sort of beat anyone on the day when we play some very good cricket.
04:02So just trying to think back to those tournaments, what we did well in those semifinals, what sort
04:06of mindset we were in.
04:07But I think this is a team that really is able to rise to the big occasions.
04:12So hopefully everyone's at their best tomorrow.
04:16Hi, Laura.
04:17Just leading on from that, what memories do you have of that semifinal at Newlands back
04:22in 2023?
04:23And how can you kind of use that to fuel you and your team tomorrow?
04:27Yeah, probably one of the more special games in my career.
04:31Obviously, being from Cape Town, that was a really cool day.
04:34I had all my family and friends in the crowd.
04:35And to be able to make finals for the first time was super special.
04:41And yeah, our team hasn't changed too much since then.
04:44So we've got a lot of people that are able to draw back on that experience.
04:48Yeah, I think it should just give us confidence knowing that we've done it before.
04:53So yeah, hopefully we can do it again.
04:54And we've just heard from Natsa Verbrunt that she will be back for England tomorrow.
04:59Does that make life harder for you guys?
05:02I guess so.
05:03I guess as a captain, it's always hard to plan for her.
05:08I think she's a world-class batter and is able to hit really weird areas.
05:11And setting a field is quite hard for her.
05:14So yeah, I think we'll just have to prep well.
05:17Hopefully we're able to keep her quiet.
05:19But yeah, they're a world-class side.
05:21I think it's going to be pretty hard to plan for all of their players.
05:24But hopefully we're able to come out on top tomorrow.
05:26Thanks.
05:32Laura, would you be happy if Natsa got a sub-fielder, if she was to get injured again tomorrow?
05:41I don't know.
05:43If they are fielding first, then I wouldn't mind because then she can't bat.
05:47So then it's fine.
05:51Similar kind of parallels actually to your 50-over World Cup campaign last year where the first match was a
05:56little bit of a write-off for the team.
05:58Can you talk about, I suppose, the resilience of the group coming back from such a heavy defeat like you
06:03have done last year and now coming up at this tournament as well?
06:05Yeah, I don't know why we keep doing it to ourselves, starting with a really bad game.
06:11It's something we have addressed as well.
06:12I think we like to start World Cups with a loss and then kind of put ourselves under pressure near
06:17the back end.
06:18But, yeah, I think the good thing is that we find a way to show a bit of resilience and
06:23to end up making the semis.
06:25Hopefully we're able to do that tomorrow again.
06:28But, yeah, I think having won all of our games in a row after that shows a bit of consistency,
06:34which is probably what we've been searching for the last couple of seasons.
06:37I think we're a side that can be quite up and down.
06:40So just to win a couple of games in a row against decent opposition was good and hopefully able to
06:45do it for two more games.
06:46And you talked about the 2023 semifinal team being quite similar to the one now two years on.
06:52But there's probably an argument that the team's a little bit stronger, maybe with the death over from a batting
06:57point of view, the likes of Kayla and Nadine coming into our own.
07:01Does that feel kind of like the missing jigsaw piece in a winning South African campaign?
07:07I hope so.
07:08Yeah, I think you're right.
07:09I think our bowling is pretty much the same, but we've got a bit more power to add to the
07:13batting.
07:14I think it's been something that since Coach Mundler has joined has been a big focus of ours is that
07:18power game.
07:19And we've done a lot of power hitting and we have a lot of young talents that are just really
07:25good at it.
07:26Like you said, Kayla and Nadine, Chloe, Dirksen, I think they all just possess a lot of power naturally.
07:33So, yeah, maybe that's what we need to finally get over the line.
07:37And I think to just use it wisely to maybe stack them throughout the innings that we're able to keep
07:43going
07:43in all the different phases.
07:51A lot of with the bat, you had a brilliant series against the Indians back home only a few months
07:56ago.
07:57So how much would you like to carry that for maybe for the knockout stage?
08:01Yeah, that would be great.
08:04Yeah, I think I just need to maybe have a think over the next 24 hours of what went well
08:08for me back then.
08:10Obviously, it's so recent.
08:12It's not like my batting has changed.
08:14It's probably just a bit of a mindset thing.
08:16So, yeah, hopefully I'm able to channel a bit of that against England tomorrow.
08:21Thank you so much.
08:23Thanks.
08:23Thanks.
08:24Thanks.
08:24Thanks.
08:24Thanks.
08:25Thanks.
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