In this file photo taken on March 8, 2020, Australia players celebrate with the winning trophy of T20 women’s cricket World Cup [File: William West/AFP]
In recent years, a particular notion has gained popularity among fans of international cricket: When there is a women’s cricket World Cup, Australia’s first and only appearance should be in the championship game. The proposal, while originally made in jest, has resurfaced ahead of the 10-team Women’s T20 Cup in South Africa, which gets underway on Friday with a match between the hosts and Sri Lanka at Newlands.
Australia, the top-ranked limited-overs side in the women’s game, enters their title defense as overwhelming favorites, defending champions, reigning Commonwealth Games gold medalists, and the team with five 20-over World Cup championships to date. However, maintaining perspective is the main goal inside the touring party.
The head coach of Australia, Shelley Nietschke, stated, “We sort of don’t speak about those sorts of designations internally. “We treat every competition for what it is: We don’t consider ourselves as the reigning champions; we see ourselves as contenders to win the 2023 World Cup since we aren’t the current champions of that tournament.
“Since this is the first one to be held in South Africa, that’s kind of how we prefer to look at things and make sure we’re taking all the necessary steps to win that competition. Playing what’s in front of us and tuning out the surrounding noise, in my opinion, is the key.
Thanks to players like Alyssa Healy, Grace Harris, Beth Mooney, and captain Meg Lanning who can instantly bolster an innings, Australia has unmatched batting depth in women’s cricket. Australia’s domination becomes virtually self-explanatory when you factor in the consistent influx of young adults with combat experience who come out of the domestic Women’s Big Bash League tournament.
Their bowling attack is more diverse than most other teams’ because to the variety provided by left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen, swingers Megan Schutt and Alana King, and legspinners Georgia Wareham and Alana King. The presence of Ellyse Perry, the greatest player of all time, Tahlia McGrath, the top-ranked T20I hitter, and top-ranked all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner provide the side balance and flexibility that other nations can only enviously admire.
Australia appeared to be in a strong position to win the T20 World Cup three times in a row given their deep, skilled roster and impressive recent record (they had only lost one competitive match since the beginning of 2022). They succeeded in doing so throughout the tournament’s 2010, 2012, and 2014 incarnations, and they intend to do so once more on February 26 in the championship game.
However, there is some optimism for the competing teams. Australia mishandled a Super-Over match last December when on a tour of India, and they lost a warm-up game against Ireland on Wednesday in Stellenbosch. No matter how infrequent the circumstance, Australia may be tested and prevail. Some rivals have been effective in taking advantage of shortcomings. Australia’s bowling, in particular, might falter when facing a tenacious batting lineup.
The teams in England, South Africa, India, and New Zealand are most positioned to compete against Australia’s anticipated dominance at the T20 World Cup.
Only one of them, England, the champions of the tournament’s first iteration, has ever claimed the prized silverware in the 20-over format. The return of Heather Knight, who was named the team’s captain, will give the runners-up at the 2022 ODI World Cup a boost. Knight missed the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games because of a hip injury, which prevented England from placing on the podium.
In what is expected to be Sciver-final Brunt’s World Cup game, veteran fast-bowling all-rounder Katherine Scriver-Brunt and young all-rounder Alice Capsey, who has recovered quickly from a broken collarbone, should improve England’s prospects.
England is in Group B with Ireland, Pakistan, West Indies, and India, whose nearly flawless campaign in the 2020 edition culminated in a defeat by Australia in the championship match in front of a record-breaking 86,174 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The build-up to India’s campaign has not been great because skipper Harmanpreet Kaur hurt her shoulder during the tri-series final last week, where India came second to eventual winners and hosts South Africa.
Even worse, India’s vice captain and seasoned opener Smriti Mandhana appears doubtful to play in their tournament opener on February 12 against Pakistan due to an injury. Was in attendance at India’s warm-up match against Bangladesh on Wednesday and noticed Mandhana wearing a tightly wrapped middle finger on her left hand, despite the BCCI not having yet officially confirmed her injury. She reportedly hurt her finger while fielding during the team’s previous exhibition game versus Australia.
India will draw encouragement from their youth team’s championship-winning performance at the inaugural Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup last month, despite the uncertainty surrounding their two key match-winners. Richa Ghosh and Shafali Verma, two teenage stars who were on that team, will undoubtedly start for the senior World Cup as well.
Even if it seems improbable considering the uncertainty surrounding their captain and her deputy’s availability, winning the championship would be the ideal introduction for the Indians to the new Women’s Premier League (WPL). The WPL, a five-team women’s T20 league modeled after the IPL, attracted attention when its broadcast and franchise rights were sold for nearly $680 million collectively last month. It is scheduled to debut on March 4.
On February 13, the fourth day of the T20 World Cup, in Mumbai, there will also be a player auction. While acknowledging the WPL would be a “enormous milestone for women’s cricket,” New Zealand captain Sophie Devine said during the T20 World Cup captains’ news conference last week that the hoopla around the WPL auction could cause some possible “distraction” for all 10 participating countries.
Meg Lanning, the captain of Australia, said about the auction, “We’ve spoken as a team about letting people deal with it how they feel is best because, as Sophie said, it’s a little bit awkward and it’s just trying to embrace that and understand that it’s actually a really exciting time and you don’t have a lot of control over it. We must simply wait and see.
All teams will be under pressure throughout the World Cup, but the hosts have had an especially rocky preseason. Cricket Dane van Niekerk, the team’s finest all-around player and projected captain, was left off South Africa’s World Cup roster because he failed a fitness test, which has received harsh criticism.
Members of its World Cup team have also been affected by its reverberations.
The South Africa opener, Laura Wolvaardt, described the team’s stance amid the controversy: “It’s simply about having a dialogue as a team that we have to perform a job now at the World Cup, and there are no time for any distractions.”
“As a squad, we had a fantastic discussion about moving forward and focusing on the upcoming games. A home World Cup is obviously very significant, therefore the more we can concentrate on the games, the better it will be for us.
It’s a mix of pressure and enthusiasm, she continued. “Being the home team, we are under a little bit more pressure. They expect you to perform well in the competition, but I’ll also have all of my friends and family present, so I believe it will lessen the pressure a little bit.
