Mohali: Having notched a convincing win in their opening tie against Sri Lanka, the New Zealand look all geared up to take on “underdogs” Ireland in the ICC Women’s World T20 match to be played here tomorrow.
The Kiwis defeated the islanders with a stunning all-round performance. In a pre-match press conference here today, the Kiwi women’s team skipper Suzie Bates said a win against the islander was a good one, but it will be a fresh start tomorrow.
The top order player said they have some quality pace bowlers, who can exploit the conditions to their advantage. With Indian tracks known to support spinners, she said, “we have pretty good lineup, we have five spinners in the squad”.
Asked about the Kiwi men’s team having a blazing start to the tournament defeating favourites India, she said her country’s men’s and women teams take inspiration from each other. “Certainly we are inspired by each others’ performance.
We won against Sri Lanka the other night and they won against India, so it is nice,” she said. “We have our communication with our counterparts and vice versa,” the skipper said to another related question. Touching upon tomorrow’s game, she said though they started off well, but it will be a fresh start.
About live telecast of women’s matches, she said the fans are valuing what the women’s game brings. “People are interested in watching our games and we are very encouraged…” she said. The skipper also said that its great to be playing in a country where cricket is very popular.
