The Australian women’s team extended its enviable dominance in world cricket further by winning an unprecedented sixth T20 World Cup trophy with a comfortable 19-run win over a fighting South Africa in the summit clash in Cape Town on February 26, 2023.
Riding on Beth Mooney’s unbeaten 74 off 53 balls, Australia first posted a competitive 156 for 6 and then restricted the home team to 137 for 6.
Mooney’s knock proved to be the deciding factor as she single-handedly carried the Australian innings with nine boundaries and one hit over the fence.
Chasing, opener Laura Wolvaardt (61 off 48 balls) played a valiant lone hand while wickets kept tumbling at the other end for the hosts.
Wolvaardt hit five boundaries and three huge sixes during her knock.
Australia women players celebrate with the trophy after defeating South Africa in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. | Photo Credit: Reuters
South Africa made a sedate start, losing Tazmin Brits in the fifth over, caught by Tahila McGrath at mid-on. McGrath ran backward to complete a catch above her head off the bowling of Darcie Brown.
Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp (11) then shared a 29-run stand for the second wicket before the latter was caught by Brown off the bowling of Ashleigh Gardner.
An over later, there was more misery for South Africa as skipper Sune Luus fell to an unwanted run out to slump to 54 for 3 in 10.4 overs.
With runs drying up, Wolvaardt went for a huge heave towards the onside off a Megan Schutt full delivery, only to miss it and be adjudged LBW. The batter, South Africa’s last hope, went for a review but was unsuccessful as Australia all but sealed the fate of the match.
Australia women cricket players collect their medals. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Left-arm orthodox spinner Jess Jonassen then accounted for Chloe Tryon (19) in the next over before Anneke Bosch was run out a ball later to dash South Africa’s slim hopes.
Electing to bat, Australia lost Alyssa Healy (18) early, caught at covers by Nadine De Klerk off the bowling of Marizanne Kapp (2/35) in the fifth over.
Then Ashleigh Gardner (29 off 21) joined hands with Mooney and the pair’s 46 runs for the second wicket stabilised the innings before the former was brilliantly caught at long-off by South Africa skipper Sune Luus off the bowling of left-arm spinner Chloe-Lesleigh Tryon.
But Mooney went about her business in blistering fashion and dispatched the bad deliveries to the fence to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Grace Harris tried to up the scoring rate but was cleaned up by left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba in the 14th over as the batter went for a wild heave over the square-leg boundary.
Next in, skipper Meg Lanning showed intent from the word go, scoring her first runs from a boundary through the point region before being brilliantly caught by Tyron at deep backward square leg off the bowling of Kapp.
Mooney, however, remained unperturbed as she kept consolidating the Australia innings, picking up boundaries with ease.
Even as Mooney held one end up, wickets kept tumbling at the other side as Australia tried to find boundaries towards the end of the innings.
South Africa brilliantly pulled things back towards the end of the innings by picking up wickets at regular intervals with Mooney remaining stranded at the other end.
South African pacer Shabnim Ismail (2/26) had a big role to play in restricting Australia, claiming the wickets of Ellyse Perry and Georgia Wareham off consecutive balls. She was on a rare hat-trick in the final over but Tahlia McGrath denied Ismail the feat, managing a single off the last delivery of the innings.
Scoreboard
Australia women: Alyssa Healy c de Klerk b Kapp 18 Beth Mooney not out 74 Ashleigh Gardner c Luus b Tryon 29 Grace Harris b Mlaba 10 Meg Lanning c Tryon b Kapp 10 Ellyse Perry c Brits b Ismail 7 Georgia Wareham b Ismail 0 Tahlia McGrath not out 1 Extras: (LB-2, NB-1, W-2) 7
Total: (For Six wickets in 20 overs) 156
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-82, 3-103, 4-122, 5-155, 6-155
South Africa women bowling: Nonkululeko Mlaba 3-0-24-1, Shabnim Ismail 4-1-26-2, Marizanne Kapp 4-0-35-2, Ayabonga Khaka 4-0-27-0, Nadine de Klerk 3-0-27-0, Chloe Tryon 2-0-15-1.
South Africa Women: Laura Wolvaardt lbw b Schutt 61 Tazmin Brits c McGrath b Brown 10 Marizanne Kapp c Brown b Gardner 11 Sune Luus run out (Mooney/Healy) 2 Chloe Tryon b Jonassen 25 Nadine de Klerk not out 8 Anneke Bosch run out (Perry/Healy) 1 Sinalo Jafta not out 9 Extras: (B-4, LB-1, NB-2, W-3) 10
Total: (For 6 wickets in 20 overs) 137
Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-46, 3-54, 4-109, 5-121, 6-122
Australia women bowling: Megan Schutt 4-0-23-1, Ashleigh Gardner 4-0-20-1, Darcie Brown 4-0-25-1, Ellyse Perry 1-0-5-0, Jess Jonassen 3-0-21-1, Georgia Wareham 2-0-21-0, Tahlia McGrath 2-0-17-0.
