Here’s the transcript of Sophie Molineux’s press conference before the clash vs India
[Reporter:]
First training session at Lord’s, how does it feel coming to a ground that’s so iconic?
[Sophie Molineux:]
Yeah, it was really cool. It was good. We had a couple of days off as well, so everyone was very excited to get out here and have a run around. Sun was out, it was nice and warm, so it was good to get out there. We did a bit of fielding and then went out the back and had some skills. So yeah, it was a big session and I think the girls got a lot out of it.
[Reporter:]
I saw Phoebe training today. Is she all fit and looking good for Sunday?
[Sophie Molineux:]
Yeah, she’s looking good. She fully trained today, sort of been building up and was pretty good over the last maybe week or so. So yeah, she’s going to be good, which is exciting for us.
[Reporter:]
Pretty sure I saw Beth out there too. How’s she pulled up after those dislocations the other night?
[Sophie Molineux:]
She said it’s Feels really good. It doesn’t look blown up or anything like that, which is a miracle. And she’s tough, so she’ll be absolutely fine to go on Sunday and onwards. But yeah, I don’t envy her that coming out twice in the one game, and she stayed on. But yeah, she’s tough and she’s done that a lot for us over the years, and that’s no different.
[Reporter:]
It’s going to be do or die for India on Sunday. How good of a test is that going to be for you guys when you maybe haven’t had a great deal of pressure in your last few matches?
[Sophie Molineux:]
Yeah, I suppose we’re in a bit of a different situation to India. We still need to win and make sure we finish where we want to place. And yeah, we know that there’s a bit of pressure on them, and I think hopefully we can double down on that and put pressure on them as well quite early in the game. But yeah, games against India are always, always good, always intense, but it’s a sellout crowd, so we know it’s going to be a big occasion and we’re very much looking forward to it.
[Reporter:]
Your first World Cup as skipper— we’re getting towards the kind of crunch time now— how have you kind of enjoyed it so far, but how much are you looking forward to this next period as well?
[Sophie Molineux:]
Yeah, I’ve loved it. It’s definitely been a little bit different to my previous World Cups. There’s probably a little bit more responsibility and things to do, but at the same time, I’ve absolutely loved it. I suppose at World Cups, you ride the waves, and we’ve been really good and consistent as a group over the last few months. So yeah, looking forward to the next week or so. That’s what we do all the hard work for, and I feel like we’re really well placed as a group moving into whatever’s next.
[Reporter:]
We saw some, I think, clips on socials of you in the Lycra during the stretching session and things like that, just to, I guess, keep the humor up, keep the morale up. How important has that been in terms of something that you want to establish in terms of your captaincy, to try and really make sure that the spirits remain high in this group?
[Sophie Molineux:]
You can’t get away with anything these days, but I suppose we’ve done a bit of bus travel, there’s, there’s been a bit of time going from place to place and I suppose there’s two ways of looking at it. One, it’s a hassle. Or two, it’s a great opportunity to sit on the bus and connect with each other, review and preview games. And then I suppose on the other side of it is just to make sure that we stay upbeat. And that’s probably a big part of, I suppose, my leadership is to make sure that the group is in a good place. And I suppose when the time’s right— I don’t get it right all the time, but sometimes when you feel that the group needs a little bit of something, I’m happy to do that. I think there’s a few other characters in the group that will do it next time. Well, I’m hoping anyway. But yeah, no, it was a bit of fun. I enjoy that stuff too.
[Reporter:]
In terms of your own experience being around this team when it has won World Cups, when it hasn’t won World Cups, what do you reflect on in terms of the next week and a bit if you are to go all the way? Is the key thing that you want this team to be kind of controlling to make sure that your focus isn’t going too far ahead to maybe a final before the semifinal or anything like that?
[Sophie Molineux:]
Yeah, that’s the big thing. It’s literally trying to live in the moment and be as present as possible. It’s so easy in a tournament or in a World Cup when there’s a lot of expectation or attention or pressure or whatever comes with it to skip ahead. But you just can’t do that at World Cups. Each game, there’s something on it. And I think, yeah, we— Shelle and I sort of said at the start of the tournament to make sure we enjoy the whole journey of the World Cup. And whether that be the bus rides or the training sessions or the mobility or just a team meeting or some dinner together or something like that, make sure we’re actually in that moment and enjoying it. And you can really sort of feel the group taking that on board. And it’s been a really enjoyable tour so far. And we know— that this week could be really special as well. So I think what we can control is either, today’s training session or the next ball when we’re playing. That’s a big focus for us to not get too far ahead.
[Reporter:]
As skipper, obviously, with— hopefully, as long as Phoebe gets through everything, if she comes back into selection contention, it’ll mean someone has to drop out. In terms of those players, how much of a say are you having in terms of whether it’s a bowling option as someone who likes to rotate your bowlers a lot, someone who’s maybe a bit of a lower order batter, what sort of is your preference as captain in terms of trying to get Phoebe back into the team?
[Sophie Molineux:]
Yeah, obviously Phoebe will slot in there in the top order and there’ll be someone that’s going to be really unlucky that’ll have to drop out. Who, I’m not too sure. We’ll probably have to keep watching this pitch. It’s under a bit of sun at the moment, so we’ll probably have to look at that and like the beauty with our squad is the depth that we’ve got and we’ve had to use that at different points this tour and yeah, in terms of how it’s shaping up for Sunday, we’re not fully sure yet.
[Reporter:]
How late are you willing to leave that call? Obviously South Africa and Bangladesh do play in the morning. Could you even wait and see how that game plays out?
[Sophie Molineux:]
Yeah, we could. Not sure if we will this time around but we did it against South Africa in the first game. We named 12 – or internally and made that decision in the morning before watching the game before us. But yeah, not sure if we’ll do that this time around, but yeah, we’ve done it before, so if we have to, we’ll probably take that route as well.
[Reporter:]
It’s been back-to-back games where I think two of the highest totals that Australia scored in T20 World Cups. How important are those power plays in terms of setting the team off on the right start and making sure you can kind of carried on and post big totals?
[Sophie Molineux:]
Yeah, that sort of feeds into what we want to do as a team and how we want to play. Our batting order is full of explosiveness and players that are naturally really good run scorers and will do it at a high rate. So it’s just, I suppose, unlocking that and getting the girls to feel like they can be free in the power play and after that as well. And it’s been really pleasing, I suppose, to see everyone sort of chipped in with some runs in the different games that we’ve played. So it’s nice that everyone’s had a bit of time out the middle at some point during the tournament, and hopefully that puts our top order and middle order in good stead over the next little bit.
[Reporter:]
And I know the team, everyone inside that 11, is confident that you guys bat down to 11 essentially. How much of that comes into the thinking when it is in those middle overs, taking a few more risks, knowing, okay, we’ve got players in the shed who could still have an impact on this game that maybe it leads to a little bit more of an aggressive approach than other teams could do?
[Sophie Molineux:]
Yeah, I think naturally that probably is the case. And a big part of this group is that we all trust each other, we all back each other, whether that be with the bat or ball. I think there’s this nice level of trust and backing, so that sort of helps as well, I suppose.
