Despite a rare defeat in their final warm-up match the five-time champions’ pedigree and form point to a sixth titleThe air of invincibility around Australia as they head into tournaments is such that the prospect of any opponent with hopes of standing in their way might seem like an exercise in futility from the outset. The eighth edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup, which begins this week in South Africa, nears its kick-off hinged on a similar premise.Five-time winners in the showpiece 20-over event, current holders of the ODI World Cup and inaugural Commonwealth Games gold medallists, Australia saunter into the tournament as firm favourites. Since the start of 2018, they have placed first at all major events, scripted...
It is not simply a special group of players at the top right now, but a seemingly never-ending talent factoryIf you have watched more than a fleeting moment of the Women’s Cricket World Cup over the past month, you will be intimately acquainted with Gin Wigmore’s Girl Gang – the song that accompanies the entry of the teams on to the field each match and plays on a seemingly continuous loop the rest of the time. On the surface it is an upbeat, peppy tune. In the context of the Australian team, though, its lyrics take on a more ominous tone. Suddenly the lines “I got the strength to tear it apart” and “we’re taking over the world” do not...
England all-rounder reached a spectacular 148 which was all in vain against Alyssa Healy’s record-breaking 170 for AustraliaAs the Olympic hurdler Rai Benjamin discovered in Tokyo last year, when he finished second to Karsten Warholm in one of the greatest races of all time, you can smash a longstanding world record and still end up losing. Nat Sciver can now relate. Her one-woman assault on one of Australia women’s best ever bowling attacks was the heartbreaking equivalent of breasting the tape just after it’s been broken by the person in front of you.In the mathematical and therefore most important sense, England got nowhere near the opposition’s total of in this World Cup final. And yet it felt so much closer...
Australia’s coronation may have felt inevitable but their manner of victory and strength in depth are still remarkableIf there was a sense of the inevitable to Australia’s coronation as Women’s World Cup champions, the manner in which they got there was still enough to make jaws drop. Alyssa Healy had form lighting up big stages, with her fast 75 at the MCG two years ago setting up a win in the T20 World Cup final. In this tournament the opening bat had 50 overs to play with, and ended up using 46 of them. The result was a monolith of 170 runs, a single innings that was bigger than some teams in the tournament managed with 11.Granted, Natalie Sciver responded...
Heather Knight’s side got the big moments right after three losses to turn things round and face Australia in Sunday’s finalMithali Raj and Smriti Mandhana, both world top-10 ODI batters, are at the crease. Mithali, the India captain, drives an in-swinger from Anya Shrubsole low to point, and the ball dips in front of Sophia Dunkley as she throws herself forward for the catch. The review captures Dunkley’s fingers beneath the ball: “I’m satisfied,” pronounces the third umpire. A wave of joy breaks over the gathered England fielders. They’re satisfied, too.Was this the moment England’s women turned their hitherto disastrous World Cup campaign around? Or was it in Shrubsole’s next over, when Kate Cross ran from cover to mid-off and...