Annerie Dirksen | Player of the match: (On her maiden Women’s T20 World Cup half-century) To be honest, I am happy that we won. I think I might die like 30 years ago because of this team (laughs)! But I’m very proud of that team and the resiliency that we showed in pulling off that game. (On scoring his first T20I half-century on the tough tour of New Zealand and how that experience helped him?) The circumstances were quite different, but it was good to have something to fall back on as a reference point. The circumstances today were very different from New Zealand, but as I said, I’m glad everyone contributed. It was a real team effort today. I thought the bowlers bowled very well, so it was a complete team effort. (On whether his role in the team is to take the game forward?) The coaches have given me the freedom to play my game. Once we recognized that this was probably my matchup (against Shamim), I went after it. I’m glad this came out today. Like I said, it was a big team effort. I was disappointed to get out at the end and wanted to get the job done for the team, but I’m very proud of the rest of the batting lineup for getting us the win. (How special is it to perform for your country?) It’s pretty surreal. I got a chance to bat with Laura and Kapp, who were my heroes growing up. That middle period, batting with Kappy, was really important. She was able to guide me through it and give me concrete options when I felt like we were a little stressed. It was a wonderful experience and full credit goes to the rest of my team.
