Meg Lanning assured that there would be no extra pressure on Australia in their do-or-die clash with New Zealand, though there is a risk of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup elimination. Australia has had a great record of winning the tournament four times. They have had a history of reaching at least the semi-final stage.
This year, they have had a heartbreaking opening match defeat against India. That makes winning the match over the White Ferns much more important to move ahead. Though it’s a must-win situation for Australia, Meg Lanning said that anything can happen.
“They can say we’re under more pressure if they want to, but I don’t think that’s the case,” said Lanning. Click To Tweet
“New Zealand wants to win just as much as we do and they are under exactly the same pressure we are.
“Every team is under the pump and we all have a lot to lose if we don’t get the result we want.
“We know we’re going to have to play extremely well and put out our best performance of the tournament so far, but I back my team to do that.
“When we’ve been in these situations in the past, we’ve really come to the fore and played well. I think it brings the best out in this group.
“There’s a lot of coverage and interest and people wanting us to do well. That’s what we’ve always asked for, I guess.
“It’s just cricket, we’ve played a lot of it and it’s something we know really well. That’s our message.”
On the other hand, New Zealand’s Sophie Devine made it very clear that she is not feeling the pressure at all.
Team New Zealand failed to move beyond the group stage in the 2018 tournament. This year, they are just one win away from changing their past story. However, they will have to improve their current form as beating the defending champions will not be that easy.
The White Ferns survived a threat by Bangladesh on Saturday when they were bowled out for 91. Sophie Devine said that their determination held them together.
“Excited’ is the word that best describes us at the moment,” said Devine.
“Everyone is really united after the performance against Bangladesh. We were put on the ropes a little bit so to fight back and I think it showed a lot of spirit from the girls. Click To Tweet
“We certainly want to touch on what happened, we can’t ignore it, but we’re certainly really excited to come up against an Australian side who we’ve played a lot of cricket not only against, but alongside as well.
“I think it’s great not to have a huge amount of time to dwell on things. What will be will be.
“We’ve done all the preparation and hard work now it’s about getting out there and enjoying ourselves.”
News Source: ICC Media Zone
Female Cricket is a digital news portal that aims to spread, share and celebrate the journey of our female cricketers around the world.