Scotland's Michael Leask reacts to their win over Namibia at the ICC T20 World Cup. The Scots chased down a target of 156 with 5 wickets remaining.
Kensington Oval, Barbados, West Indies
Kensington Oval, Barbados, West Indies
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Steve Clare, the only Scotsman in the press box apparently, first of all, obviously just the open question,
00:07can you describe your emotions on being top of the table in the Cricket World Cup?
00:12Look, we've got a hell of a squad, it's no surprise to us, it might be a surprise to some,
00:20England will probably say it was a surprise to them the other day that we're 90 off 10 overs,
00:25it doesn't surprise me, this team's got great depth, we've played together for a number of years,
00:30a number of us, we've got some new fresh blood, so it doesn't really surprise us that we're in this position,
00:36and yeah, we've got two more huge games and why can't we top the group at the end of it then?
00:41So you do recognise that, why the fans and the people even worse, the media will be elated,
00:46and I'm not going to pretend that there won't be a certain amount of smugness looking who's below us at the table,
00:51are you guys very much out, we've won nothing yet?
00:54Yeah, well we're only top of the table with two games to go, those two games could put us bottom of the table,
01:00so we've still got a lot of cricket to play, there's still 80 overs of cricket to play,
01:05and there's still a lot of other teams to do a lot of other things as well,
01:08so we can only do what we can control, we've got a man on Sunday which is a huge fixture for us and then we go again.
01:14Obviously I'm getting a lot of texts from people who knew I was here, and a lot of them are using the word maturity,
01:20that there was a maturity in the batting, even the game wasn't completed, even behind the run rate there was a maturity.
01:26Is that something that you guys have worked on, not to panic if the scoreboard goes a bit out of your grasp because there's a bigger plan that you have?
01:34Yeah, I guess we've now got a maturity of a group where we've been together enough in a long time that someone will step up,
01:41sometimes it's George, sometimes it's Michael, sometimes it's Richie, today it was lucky it was my day,
01:47in the batting and then with the ball, Brad Curry, Brad Wheel, Soli, exceptional.
01:52We've got a lovely bowling attack with Safian who's also been in the squad since 2012 and before,
01:59so he's still waiting in the wings to have his chance as well, so we've got some lovely bowlers as well waiting to fire.
02:05Listen, the US have just got a great result here, that's been a fantastic game between you two guys,
02:13I just wonder, on a slightly wider sense, the idea that this is a 20-team World Cup and there's an opportunity for other teams to actually break into the club
02:21and show what they can do and how nice that is for you guys?
02:24Yeah, you're remembering that Zimbabwe aren't here, we've also got other teams that are missing,
02:29so there's other teams that could also be here and strengthen this World Cup.
02:33The more teams the better for me, you've seen today a fantastic associate game of cricket,
02:39you've seen another associate take on a full member and win, associates get the associate tag,
02:44but we fight well above our weight and I think we deserve a lot more recognition than that, I believe.
02:50Yes, Uganda are playing their first tournament, they've had their first win in two days,
02:54they've played two games, they've got their first win, so for me it just shows the strength and depth in associate cricket.
02:59Can you tell us a little bit about your role down the order as a six-hitter?
03:04Today with the run rate, I guess there was a bit of freedom anyway, but your job is to hit the ball pretty hard, yeah?
03:09Yeah, I spoke to Skipper, my job is hit the ball hard in gaps and if it's slot, I try and hit it out of the ground,
03:15if it comes off, it comes off, if it doesn't, they know what my plan is.
03:18I'm lucky enough today to get off the mark and then put them under pressure.
03:22As soon as we get on the fight and I get on top, we give ourselves a fighting chance.
03:28With the way Richie was playing, we always spoke, hit the ball hard and we'll make them have to change, which is what eventually happened.
03:34You mentioned those next couple of games, you've showed yourselves against England, Australia waiting for you,
03:41I'm guessing no backwards step, it's the same game plan, go hard and show the guys what you've got?
03:47Yeah, George and Michael showed up top that they've got the skill and ability to face the best in the world
03:54and the rest of us didn't get that opportunity on the day to show how good we are on it.
03:58I'm not going to sit here and say Australia's not going to be a difficult game, I'm not going to sit here and say Oman's not going to be a difficult game,
04:03because I know how tough the associate game is, Oman's yet to fire, it could be against us,
04:08so we're going to have to bring our A game against both teams and I guess for us that's what we do on every given day,
04:13we take each game, game by game and look at the opponents and see what we have to adapt and bring.
04:20Michael, how are you coming into this tournament as far as your batting was concerned?
04:26Because you played some of those kinds of innings in Zimbabwe last year and then didn't have a lot of cricket,
04:32so how are you feeling about your own batting, was it just about getting an opportunity again?
04:39Look, it probably didn't set the world alight in the Holland and Ireland series,
04:44I had one OK innings which gave us a chance, but for me, I never change the way I play,
04:50I try and wear my heart on my sleeve no matter what I do and I leave it all out there on the field.
04:56You'll see that the way I field, the way I bowl, the way I bat, I'm very passionate about Scottish cricket,
05:00always have done, always will be and it's never going to change.
05:04If a game's to be won, I'll try and win it, like everyone else, I just do it slightly differently.
05:10That partnership between you and Richie, is it fair to say that you're almost as much of an odd couple
05:16as far as personalities go and then that's kind of reflected in your batting as well
05:22and the areas and the kind of demeanour I guess?
05:25Yeah, you could say that, Richie's quite shy, not shy but he's quite reserved and when he speaks you listen,
05:32whereas I'm just a hyper dafty who puts his heart on his sleeve
05:36and that's the way that I've played my cricket and I'm never going to change.
05:40I bring the energy to the squad and that's the way I bat I guess, I hit the ball hard,
05:46if it comes off it's exciting at the end of the day and the way Richie does it,
05:50it's a bit more finesse, a bit more class and what wouldn't you want from the skipper?
05:54And just a word on how he was there, what was the conversations between you
06:01and is he the ideal person to have by your side when your back's against the wall?
06:07Yeah, Richie's always someone I enjoy batting with because we always run well together,
06:12that was the discussion, hit the ball hard, see if we can sneak a few twos
06:15and then get ourselves wrestling in the arm wrestle so to speak
06:18and then we kind of won that arm wrestle so to speak at that moment
06:23and then we put the foot back on the gas and get over the line.
06:30Not a problem, thank you very much.