Sadly, not all fairy tales have a happy ending.
Entering a first Women’s Twenty20 World Cup final against Australia at Newlands, Cape Town, on Sunday, a pumped up South African women’s cricket team had the momentum after solid performances in their last two outings; had a packed stadium of home support; and they were desperate to go where no South African cricket team has gone before – a World Cup triumph.
However, despite their bravery and resilience, South Africa came up against the ultimate professionals and fell just 19 runs short.
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Since the inception of the T20 Women’s World Cup in 2009, Australia have dominated it. They know how to win. The Aussies have now won six of the eight titles on offer, with only England (2009) and West Indies (2016) breaking their stranglehold on the shortest form of the women’s game.
Perhaps Sune Luus’ team played their final on Friday – a rare win over England in the semifinals – against the odds. Beating the unbeaten Australia for the first time in this format was always going to be a big ask.
We know our women’s cricket game is in good hands. We salute the class of 2023. They made the semifinals in 2020 in Australia and the final at home.
The sky’s the limit for them at next year’s World Cup in Bangladesh…
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