Kane Williamson | New Zealand Vs South Africa | ICC Champions Trophy SEMI-FINALS | Press Conference

Описание: VIDEO COURTESY: ICC

Kane Williamson- New Zealand post-match press conference, 5 March '25

Kane Williamson- New Zealand post-match press conference, 5 March '25
[Reporter:]

Today you and Rachin, that partnership, if you could take us through what the conversations were like - because you lost an early wicket. Was it another case of knowing the conditions too well, having played here for the last two weeks. How did that help?

[Kane Williamson:]

Yeah, we've had some experience here which is nice. It is a high scoring ground historically, but the wicket was used when we just wanted to try and get in on it and then with the speed of the outfield and the even pace of the wicket once you spent some time out there meant that we were able to build that partnership and try and increase the run rate throughout the innings and the guys coming in that obviously come out and play a few shots. So, it was a great all-round team performance today.

[Reporter:]

You scored 100 here against South Africa in the tri-series. You called that pitch really good -very good for batting especially during that afternoon session when you were batting here as well again. Was this a similar wicket to that one?

[Kane Williamson:]

I think that last game the batting conditions were outstanding and I think this was also a good pitch, but you did get the sense that the cutters and things were holding a little bit more, but still a very good pitch for batting. I think it just took a little bit more time to start and get a rhythm, and once we were able to do that and try and put South Africa under a little bit of pressure. They're a formidable team and they've got match winners throughout, so it was nice we were able to get some good partnerships together in that first innings, knowing that regardless of how many we got, it was always going to be a tough job in that second inning. They've got such a strong batting lineup, too. So, some really good contributions throughout.

[Reporter:]

You've already played one match against India in Dubai. And you know the conditions better than South Africa probably because they hadn't played over there so what differently would New Zealand do as a team while playing against India in the final and how's that different to what you have played on

[Kane Williamson:]

Yeah definitely the conditions are a lot different but you know that's sort of the nature of the beast I think in any tournament that you have, conditions change a little bit throughout. For us, it was nice to have that last match against India. There's some really good bits there. India are an outstanding team and playing really well. So, look, it's important we try and take away some learnings from that last game. Park this match, and in a final, anything can happen. And it was a great atmosphere last game and I'm sure it'll be a good one again.

[Reporter:]

It seems like South Africa is your favourite opponent to bat against, You’ve scored three consecutive ODI centuries against them. So, any specific reason behind them?

[Kane Williamson:]

No, I don't think so. My focus is just trying to go out and do the job for the team. I'm not totally aware of those numbers. I think there are probably large gaps in between. So, it's just trying to build partnerships, try and make contributions for the side, and I think everybody sort of shares in that focus, and I guess we bring it back today, and it was a great sort of all-round team performance, but knowing that, we park it now, and we look forward to the next one and quite different conditions against a different opposition

[Reporter:]

Your captain is bowling excellent in Pakistan what do you think the secret behind this good bowling?

[Kane Williamson:]

Yeah, he's an outstanding operator, a great reader of the game and of batsmen, and he's done it for so many years now. And so, the way he changes his pace, I think, is key. We saw that when you did sort of take the pace off, it did react a little bit. So, we saw it turn every now and again, which was probably a little bit different to the previous games that we had here. But, he's a world-class spinner and a big part of our attack and obviously the leader of our team now too.

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