"India have really shown what a powerful team they are": Maddy Green

New Zealand ended their World T20 2018 with two wins against Pakistan and Ireland. Having signed off with two wins, they still couldn't manage to qualify for the semi-finals. Talking about the tournament, Maddy Green said, "I think it's really pleasing to walk away with a good win here today. But obviously really disappointed that we're not progressing to Antigua to the semifinals."



On the other hand, Ireland lost the match as well as lost the opportunity to qualify directly for the World T20 2020. "I think all around really: Batting, bowling. A credit to New Zealand; I thought they bowled very well. And I think one positive for us is Gaby Lewis. And she'll be the first one to admit that she didn't have the best tournament up to this game," said Kim Garth.



"Look, I think the way Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine batted today, I think anybody would have found it hard to bowl with them. Yeah, we probably didn't bowl our best. But when two batters come out like that, I think they're trying to get the runs as quickly as they can, of course. Probably didn't bowl well either," she added.



"For us, it's just about winning critical moments in each game. And I think both against India and Australia we got ourselves into positions to actually win the game. It's just been winning those critical moments, and I think that's what Australia and India did against us in those first two games."



Disappointed Maddy Green shared, "It's just going back home knocked out for the finals. But we know we're a good side."



New Zealand has seen some shuffle in the batting order. Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates have been very successful as openers but in this tournament, Anna Peterson opened the innings with Bates. "I think probably in Australia in our series there Sophie and Suzie have been batting together. And we thought we could potentially lengthen our batting order a little bit. And Anna Peterson has been batting really well at domestic cricket, opening the batting. She's an aggressive style player. I think that sort of choice was let's give her a crack, free licence, go out there, see if she can score quickly."



"And unfortunately that didn't come off for her in those first few games. She was coming up against some really top-quality opposition. So I think going back to Sophie and Suzie, it's an opportunity for those two to bat as long as they can. I don't necessarily think it was the wrong decision to split those two up against Australia and India. Just didn't quite work out on the day," she added.



Talking about the positive things this tournament has given, she told, "I think Suzie Bates has been outstanding in the game with the bat. And Sophie Devine again showed what she can do with the bat. She's very destructive. I think that's really positive for us."



"I think Katey Martin, as well, in particular, she's really stepped up in that middle order. And she's played some really great cameos. And I think our spinners have bowled really well generally. We talked about in these conditions potentially with our lengths wrong earlier against India, but I thought we actually, in terms of bowling, pulled that back after that first game and bowled pretty well."



"So, definitely going to be some positives we take away. But we need to go back home. And, as I said, figure out how we're going to keep beating these top teams," she further added.



While talking about Suzie Bates' massive achievement of becoming 1st player to score 300o T20I runs, Maddy Green shared, "Suzie is absolutely brilliant. She's a fantastic member of our side. She's great with all the players. She's incredibly humble. And she's an incredibly talented player. And we've seen Suzie perform for our side for a long, long period of time, so hopefully, there's a bit more to come."



Talking about the retirement of the veterans, Garth said, "Yeah, there's definitely a lot of tears. You know, Cecelia, Ciara, Shills and Isobel have been four incredible servants of Irish cricket. And I don't think Irish women's cricket will be anywhere near it is today without them. They're going to be a huge loss both on and off the field. They're absolute champions on the field but champions off the field as well. And yeah, we're going to miss them a lot. I think it's also -- it is extremely sad that they're retiring. It's going to be a different dynamic without them. It's going to be -- definitely big boots to fill, but I think we have some exciting young players coming through."