NZW 132/4 (18.2) vs SCOW 131/7 (Maddy Green 4(2) Brooke Halliday 41(38))

Amelia Kerr | New Zealand skipper: [On New Zealand’s overall performance and restricting Scotland to 131] Really happy to keep them to that total. I think they got off to a bit of a flyer and Darcy Carter played a great innings. But then, I guess when it was about four overs to go, I thought we pulled them back really nicely. [On the team’s fielding performance] It was a bit of a mixture again in the field. You haven’t quite put it together yet, but I guess winning these close ones now when you were losing them earlier on is a good, better sign. Some good stuff in the field, but also some stuff where we can be a little bit better. And we know that, but yeah, just pleasing to get the win. And if we are 5 percent better, potentially, we’re only chasing 120. [On losing early wickets and Izzy Sharp’s match-winning innings] Obviously we don’t want to keep losing three in the power play, but I think what a special knock from Izzy Sharp today. And I guess I’ve seen her in the nets and at Supersmash for a long time. And I just think she has the potential to be one of New Zealand’s best ever and be one of the best in the world. And today for a young player to play the way she did was brilliant. [On the upcoming match against England at The Oval] We are excited for it. I think The Oval is a great place to play cricket. Obviously today the wicket was a little bit slower and normally at The Oval it’s a belter. It’s a sellout. So that’s really exciting to play, you know, the host nation. And I guess it’s all to play for for us.

Kathryn Bryce | Scotland skipper: [On Scotland coming close again against a higher-ranked opponent] I think we started off again fantastically with the bat, and then probably a little tough period there at the end, probably felt like we left maybe 20 runs out there and probably the difference at the end. [On the impact of Sophie Devine coming into the attack after the second power play] Yeah, massively. I think we did really well to get those few early wickets and then had a couple of chances in there as well, and if one of them stuck, it maybe opens the game up a bit more, but they had a fantastic partnership and just were really smart through that middle period. [On New Zealand’s running between the wickets] Yeah, it was pretty tough, like the bigger boundaries and probably a bit slower out there as well, hard to judge kind of where you stood on the boundaries compared to Headingley. So, yeah, I think they ran really well out there. [On the positives to take from the performance] A huge amount. I think, again, the batting was a massive point and I think taking those early wickets as well, probably, I haven’t taken as many powerplay wickets as earlier in the competition, and I think that really set us up to be able to squeeze through the middle period and probably just let them away a little bit at the period. [On Darcy Carter’s innings] Absolutely fantastic. She had a big score against the West Indies, but was kind of really disappointed with how she managed to kind of continue through the innings and I think she learnt a lot from that and made a couple of games, learned some from that and been able to put it in practice. So yeah, I’m really proud of how she’s been able to go today.

Izzy Sharp | Player of the Match: [On batting at No. 3] I think it’s just get the opportunity and try and make the most of it. I have done that domestically. So I like batting there, but just whenever I get the opportunity, I just want to make the most of it. [On the partnership with Brooke after the early wicket of Sophie Devine] Me and Brooke knew that we had to be there till about the 14th over. And we said that didn’t matter really too much about the runs per over. But then as soon as we hit that 14-over mark, we were able to accelerate. So it was awesome. [On the communication during the partnership] Brooke’s awesome to bat with. She’s so calm and her experience is awesome, especially for me coming into the side. So I love batting with her and hopefully a few more.

Click here to read article