Prior to the T20 Women’s World Cup there was an overwhelming expectation that Australia, as hosts, defending champions and unbackable favourites, would progress through to the final.
But no one expected it to be this way.
Meg Lanning’s side rode every possible emotion on a sodden and chaotic day in Sydney on Thursday, progressing to Sunday’s MCG showpiece by just five runs against South Africa.
And while it won’t be recorded in the annals, a more accurate winning margin for the semi-final might actually be nine minutes. After somehow batting their allotted 20 overs to post 5-134 under dark clouds – a total Lanning later admitted was good without being great – rain returned, and time was running out to retake the field.
This would add another layer of tension to an already anxiety-filled day. A no-result, of course, would see South Africa prevail. But the players finally retook the field at 9:40pm, just shy of the 9:49pm cutoff.
With that bullet dodged, they still had a mountain of work to do. Faced with slippery conditions, the Aussies were clinical with the ball, hitting back-of-a-length on a skidding surface, rarely allowing the South African top order to get underneath the ball.
Treating every run like gold dust, they were similarly impressive in the field. In the second over Delissa Kimmince put her body on the line, getting behind a crunching Dane van Niekerk sweep at backward square leg, saving four and signalling to the opposition that nothing would come easy. And it didn’t. Lanning, Ash Gardner and Beth Mooney would all hold on to sharp chances to swing the tie in Australia’s favour.
(Photo by Matt King-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
Lanning would deservedly earn player-of-the-match honours, her 49 off 49 digging Australia out of a hole earlier in the game, arguably of their own doing.
Forcing the left-hand/right-hand tactic perhaps too far, they promoted Jess Jonassen peculiarly above Rachael Haynes to bat at number four. This was despite Jonassen having batted just once, at number seven, throughout the tournament.
It didn’t pay off, and when Ash Gardner nicked off soon after they were in a seemingly avoidable spot of bother. Lanning couldn’t free her arms knowing the lack of batting to come – the insurance of Ellyse Perry was absent at the time they needed it most. So she paced her innings well, and while those in the comfort of their lounge room may have willed her to accelerate earlier, she held off and ensured she was there at the end. Without her, Australia might have lost.
As impressive as the Australians were, they not only owe a huge gratitude to the SCG ground staff, but whoever was looking down on them from the dark, ominous clouds above Sydney. How they played 33 out of a possible 40 overs after Sydney’s deluge is a mystery. Luck was on their side.
The South Africans can count themselves unlucky. Their strong tournament ending after an uncertain, emotion-sapping day. But at least they mostly controlled their own destiny, a luxury England weren’t afforded earlier in the day when their semi-final with India was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
While the narrative here in Australia will understandably focus on the host nation’s get-out-of-jail win, the day so nearly threatened to finish with two washed-out semi-finals. All is well that ends well for Australian fans but for the English, they have every reason for bitterness.
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Sure, the ICC’s rules were established well before the tournament began. Yes, each side knew and signed off on the agreed playing conditions and yes, rules are rules. But there’s a bitter taste when last year’s men’s ODI World Cup had almost identical fixturing (that is, a Thursday semi-final into a Sunday final) with a reserve day on Friday set aside.
Besides the understandably tough logistics and costs associated with shifting the semi-finals, it still would have been the right move, especially with a mostly clear day forecast in Sydney today. Without doubt, the fine print leading into international tournaments needs to be scrutinised to a higher degree on the back of Thursday’s chaos.
For Australia and India, however, it’s onto bigger and better things. Certainly bigger, with Sunday’s expected 90,000-plus crowd far more than any of the 22 players would have played in front of. In fact, if it tips 90,185, it will be more than any woman has played in front of. With Australia there, they might just give the figure a nudge. And with India as the opponent, it could hardly be better poised to break the record.
Irrespective of the crowd, the match-up itself is a tasty one. India are in sharp touch, and are clearly Australia’s toughest opponent at present. Sixteen-year-old Shafali Verma has just taken over as the world’s number one batter, while Poonam Yadav’s bamboozling leg spin is now well known.
The final that organisers hoped for is here, but it’s been a bumpy ride.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
Big back pedal from you ChrisB - and not an honest one either. You've misinterptreted what I said - twice. You've called me a sexist and a prat and now you end up half agreeing with me :silly:
ChrisB
Roar Rookie
I was actually trying to say don;t base your judgement on one or two games. The final was poor to a degree, as it was over as a contest pretty early and the Indians didn't handle the pressure. But it's pretty insulting to the skill of the likes of Healy, Mooney, Jonassen etc to disparage the sport - "Bowling at 55 km/h means it’s child’s play to advance down the pitch and hit a full toss for 6" - for instance. Is it? Do the guys always plant a spinner for 6 off a free hit? If they don't, do you also comment on that? "it was obvious none of the Aussie batsman had ever seen a googly in their lives. It was laughable school girl stuff as they collapsed in heap". - I was pointing out that they play plenty of leggies, and that I suspect the pressure of the occasion, and the hoo haa before the tournament about setting the record perhaps got to the team in that first game. My point was, just because someone failed, dropped a catch, misstimed a shot, for certain commentators if it happens in the women's game, it seems an opportunity not to put it in context, but to imply that they're all crap.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
hahaha Chris You're the one being a prat - playing the man/women with insults instead of addressing the issue. I thought the final was a very low quality game and I'm sure 1000s more did also. That does not make any of us sexist, just honest. According to name callers like you anyone who says anything negative about the quality of the skills on show is a sexist and/or a prat. That's actually reverse sexism :silly: I'm not a T20 fan anyway so only tuned for this women's world cup. The relative skill levels are much higher in women's tennis, hockey, football and basketball than in cricket imo. Oh dear ......more sexism from the honest :shocked:
ChrisB
Roar Rookie
If you actually bothered to watch the WBBL instead of posting thinly disguised sexist 'critiques' you'd know that the game is rather awash with leggies, including a few I can think of (Amelia Kerr of NZ, our own Amanda Wellington or Georgia Wareham) who are at least as good as the Indian spinners. So it's not unfamiliar to them. Yes the Aussies were poor in the first game (I was there and they actually looked even worse live), but I think they got caught out by the pressure of this dumb 'setting the record' marketing campaign for the final - way before actually qualifying for the final, and a bowler who they'd hardly faced before - it has happened in the men's game too you know, people aren't always at their best... they seemed noticeably more confident and assured once in the final, and knowing they hadn't let down everyone hoping for the massive expected crowd. Maybe try enjoying something and celebrating rather than being a prat. There's one thing being a critic within the context of the game itself, but this constant 'they're not as good as the men' theme is boring and says more about you than it does about them. Yes they, on average, don't hit as far or have as much power, and don;t bowl as fast (though if you'd seen the great Cathryn Fitzpatrick in the 90s/early 00s you'd have a slightly different view there) but that doesn't mitigate the quality of players like Perry, Lanning, Healy, Mooney, Schutt etc over a substantial period of time. I suggest you watch some classic WBBL matches (maybe the 2 semis from the 2018/19 season) and get a better feel for it.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Might as well be bowling me. The game was well and truly over and the best side in the world was merely going through the motions.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
@Chris As Gilchrist stated in commentary during the 1st India-Aust game as few weeks ago - Yadav only had 1 delivery. A 55km/h googly. She bowled nothing else and didn't need too as her predictable loopy balls completely fooled the Aussie bats women anchored to the crease. Meanwhile, the aussie ladies obviously got a fast course in batting basics from coaches and last night dealt with Yadav ok - that was then game over.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I don’t know. Plenty of the men seem to have no clue against spin also. I blame them never facing it as kids. I always loved facing legspin, my favourite bowling type to face, but I played with plenty of batmen who were among our best against pace bowling, but the moment a spinner, especially a leggie, came on, it was like they were bowling hand grenades. I had a bowl in the nets to a 13 y/o kid a few weeks back, and he was fine with seam up, and even when I bowled finger spin, but if I pitched a leggie remotely well he could barely lay bat on it. His dad commented about some kid in his team who used to bowl some spin but was encouraged to change to bowling pace instead. That’s a big part of the problem.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
Yes the aussies were taught to use their feet finally and so Yadav's predictable slow googly's got what they deserved. THat was the only issue in this game. Once Yadav was dealt with it was game over. I didn't even bother to watch the Indian batting innings :cricket:
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
And only fell four runs short, yes?
HR
Roar Rookie
Evidently they reviewed their plans against Yadav - 1/30 from four isn't a great return. As far as women playing in men's grade cricket, the only one I can think of off the top of my head is Amanda Wellington, who plays 2nds for Port Adelaide in SA Grade cricket. She took 10 wickets at an average of 20.2 and S/R of 41.5 in 8 matches last season, and she's a peripheral national player, so Yadav could well be competitive at that level - it's very difficult to gauge without seeing her play. Maybe the wrong 'un is harder to pick than you think.
Nick
Roar Guru
Of course they looked at the weather guide. They bowled first because it Der
Tanmoy Kar
Guest
Australians should consider themselves to be lucky by avoiding rain threat and somehow by beating South Africans by only 5 runs.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Would have been better sportsmanship if she had stated that she would rather lose playing against a better side than advance via a free pass to the final!
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Not really! They needed 20+ off the last over.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
Yes Yadav :thumbup: I'm not suggesting she's a mug. She's obviously a genius in the women's game cos she's the only bowler who can use flight or ...... bowl a googly. I'm doing the wrong thing and comparing the best women players in world to men. And Yadav bowling at 55 km/h with a predictable speed and loop would be smashed out of the ground in even Brissy or Sydney 2nd grade men's club games. Yes I know I should not be comparing them to men but this incident did show me just how far behind the best women cricket players in world are. Women's tennis, football, hockey players are much closer in skill level imo. Hope those Aussie T20 players have Warnie in the nets with em every day, all day, now or else little Yadav will em alive again :shocked:
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
If I had to get serious… Well let me… Australians understand fan pressure for results… But let me tell you Micko the pressure coming from home for our teams to perform is massive. This is probably a side effect of the isolation years where we felt equal to all but not able to prove it.. The pressure on SA sportsmen and women to Excell is bloody enormous.. Maybe that’s it.. Dunno.
Micko
Roar Rookie
A combination of bad luck and choking. Should've had the Aussies in 1999 with that disastrous panicked run out between Donald & Klusener. 2015 had De Villiers and others dropping sitters due to the pressure. I think South Africa will win soon, and when they do get the monkey off the back they'll win 2 or 3 in a row, the same way NZ did in the rugby.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Ha ha Micko, we ask ourselves that.
Micko
Roar Rookie
What is it with you South Africans and Cricket World Cup Semi Finals?!!! :shocked:
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
They could have predicted the weather?