‘Scrappy’ and ‘bloody tough’: Australia beat South Africa to win their third straight T20 World Cup
Meg Lanning’s champion Australian side have won another global crown, successfully defending their women’s T20 World Cup title with an emphatic 19-run victory over hosts South Africa in Cape Town.
Beth Mooney’s unbeaten 53-ball 74 did the most to put pressure on the South Africans in their first women’s or men’s World Cup final appearance, as the Australians, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, amassed 6-156 at Newlands.
While it was a far cry from the 4-184 that won them their last T20 title three years ago, Mooney acknowledged after the match “it was bloody tough” to score on the sticky wicket.
Defending a relatively small total, Lanning’s team bowled with clinical efficiency to maintain control, even in the face of a threatening 61 off 48 from opener Laura Wolvaardt, as they ended up restricting the Proteas to 6-137, and lift the T20 title for the third time in a row and the sixth time in the past seven editions.
Ash Gardner, who was named player of the tournament after the match, played a vital hand with a momentum-shifting 29 off 21 but admitted it took some defending.
“We fought and we scrapped and we bowled the absolute house down,” she said.
Among a fine combined effort from the Australian bowlers, Gardner, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown and Jess Jonassen each took key wickets as the Australians won a 13th world title in white-ball cricket.
Earlier, after a slow start in the Cape Town showdown, Mooney burnished her reputation as a big-game superstar with another top-scoring hand in a final to go with her 78* off 54 in the 2020 finale.
Her quickfire 15-ball stand of 33 with Ellyse Perry (7 off 5 balls) ensured the defending champions scored 46 in the death overs, despite Shabnim Ismail’s double-wicket 20th over.
The 34-year-old South Africa quick became the leading wicket-taker in women’s T20 World Cup history with her 42nd strike.
She was on a hat-trick when Tahlia McGrath took a single off the final ball as Australia finished on 6-156, leaving the match evenly poised.
Earlier, Gardner, promoted to Lanning’s usual number three slot, marshalled Australia from 1-36 in the powerplay to double that run tally by the halfway mark.
Her 41-ball, 46-run second-wicket stand with Mooney, who played out a maiden in the sixth over against Ismail, broke upon the introduction of part-time spinner Chloe Tryon.
The left-armer had Gardner hole out to long-off, where South African captain Sune Luus completed a high catch without a hitch.
The all-rounder then took a superb catch at deep mid-wicket off a Lanning pull to reduce the opposition to 4-122 with 17 balls left in the innings.
Australia amassed 34 off those 17, with Mooney, who brought up her second successive fifty of the World Cup, off 44 balls, fetching 25 in that tally.
Mooney’s pivotal innings rescued Australia after her fellow opener, Alyssa Healy, scrapped to a 20-ball 18 that ended with a catch at cover off Marizanne Kapp.
South Africa’s chase had its moments, mostly off the bat of Wolvaardt, who clobbered three sixes and five fours in her dig.
She and Tryon scored 39 runs from overs 13 to 15 to give South Africa hope of a maiden World Cup title, but a Gardner over calmed things down and Schutt trapped Wolvaardt plumb LBW in the next.
Tryon did her best to muster a miracle with a six off Jonassen’s next over, but when her leg stump was collected two balls later, the match was effectively over.
Look back at how it unfolded in our live blog.
Key events
Women’s Twenty20 World Cup final
We’ll sign off there
By Jon Healy
We’ll have more coverage of another brilliant performance from this all-conquering Australian side, but we’ll call time on this blog here and now.
Thanks for hanging with us tonight.
Ash Gardner is player of the tournament
By Jon Healy
Key Event
Ash Gardner, who was little more than a part-timer at the last T20 World Cup and now balls death overs, is named player of the tournament.
She is a true all-rounder now, and her 29 off 21 was far more important than the sheer numbers would suggest, plus she finished with 1-20 today.
In the tournament, she only had a top score of 31, but her power hitting in the middle order can, and often does, change the complexion of games.
She also finished second on the wickets tally, with 10 at an economy of just 6.25 an over despite bowling at the death.
Super women
By Jon Healy
What a great team these women are super women
CONGRATULATIONS
LADIES– Suzanne Bradford
Six T20 world titles, seven 50-over world titles, and holding the Ashes since 2015.
I think we’re all running out of superlatives for this team.
AUSTRALIA WINS A THIRD STRAIGHT T20 WORLD TITLE!
By Jon Healy
Key Event
As if we needed any more evidence, Meg Lanning’s women have given us another example of their complete domination of the cricket scene.
Top to bottom, batting to bowling, there are so few weaknesses in this team. Even when they look up against it, with a relatively meagre total and a steamrolling Laura Wolvaardt, it was just class all around the park that got the Aussies home to their third successive T20 crown, and sixth overall.
Beth Mooney’s unbeaten 74 off 53 on a tough pitch was another enormous performance on the biggest stage from the classy left-hander, but the bowlers stepped up as well.
Ash Gardner, Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen all had their moments, but what’s most striking the cool, calm brilliance of this team, perhaps best exemplified by leader Lanning.
Even when Wolvaardt was rolling en route to her 61 off 48, the Australians just seemed to have all the answers.
For South Africa, this feels like an enormous moment. Their first World Cup in any cricket format and a sell-out at Newlands. There’s a new generation coming through, and they’re another team joining the ranks at the tippy top of women’s cricket.
Final over – South Africa need 27 runs from the last over
By Jon Healy
It will be Ash Gardner to bowl it.
Jafta helps the first ball on its way to deep fine leg and de Klerk gets a single too. Another single to fine leg. It’s 24 off 3 now. Mathematically gone.
19th over – South Africa need 35 from 12
By Jon Healy
Is there room for a miracle? It’s hard to see it happening.
Four. Sinalo Jafta backs away and lofts over cover for four. She’s going to go down swinging.
Nadine de Klerk throws everything at a slog sweep and it sprays away behind point.
RUN OUT! Anneke Bosch is gone
By Jon Healy
Fair enough, the Proteas tried for an unlikely two on the arm of Ellyse Perry. It was never going to work, and Bosch was caught well short of her crease, but they had to try.
Jess Jonassen comes through in the clutch again, bowling Chloe Tryon
By Jon Healy
Key Event
Tryon backed away to try to give herself room, and Jonassen snuck one under the bat and into the leg stump.
That’s it. South Africa are just batting for pride now.
18th over – South Africa need 43 off 18
By Jon Healy
Jess Jonassen is coming over the wicket to the right-handed De Klerk.
She drops short and de Klerk goes to the leg side. Perry charges in and stops the boundary.
SIX! Tryon goes massive over cow corner. Power personified.
Great response from Jonassen, digging in a slow one and bamboozling Tryon.
17th over – Megan Schutt continues
By Jon Healy
Four byes! Outside off, through Alyssa Healy’s legs and then Darcie Brown fails to clean up on the rope. Very messy.
Megan Schutt gets the mammoth breakthrough!
By Jon Healy
Key Event
The veteran seamer took four wickets in the last T20 World Cup final and this one wicket is worth all four of those, because it’s Laura Wolvaardt, plumb LBW for 61 off 48.
As the opener walks off, you feel like she’s taking the hopes of a nation with her.
But out comes Nadine de Klerk to partner Chloe Tryon. What can they muster?
17th over – South Africa need 53 off 24
By Jon Healy
FOUR! Chloe Tryon smashes a ball off the stumps and down the ground. So much power in that shot.
A single give Wolvaardt the strike.
SHE’S GIVEN OUT!! This looks plumb! But she reviews, in hope more than anything.
She tried the slog sweep and missed everything, with the yorker dipping to hit her right in front.
16th over – South Africa need 59 off 30
By Jon Healy
Gardner returns to try to stem the bleeding.
She starts with two singles and a dot. Every dot is impossibly valuable for Australia right now.
Gardner is peppering the pads of these batters. The off side has no-one protecting the boundary, but the bowling isn’t giving them a chance to target that area.
Wide. That’s the risk when you’re bowling wide of leg.
Six from the over. It doesn’t sound like much, but after 39 off the previous three overs, that’s basically a tourniquet for the Aussies.
Still plenty to do though.
FIFTY FOR LAURA WOLVAARDT
By Jon Healy
Every ball is at risk of going to or over the rope at the moment, and she drills one through cover to bring up a major half-century for her country.
She’s carrying the hopes of South Africa right now. If she goes, they’re no chance, but as long as she’s out there, the Proteas can dream.
She’s not slowing down, smashing four more back over Darcie Brown’s head.
Ten off the 15th over. Momentum is with the South Africans.
15th over – Darcie Brown bowling
By Jon Healy
Wolvaardt backs away to give herself room over off, but Brown follows her.
14th over – Georgia Wareham bowling her second
By Jon Healy
Laura Wolvaardt has to attack the leg-spinner, but she fires down the leg side, and it’s only a single to Perry.
Four! Chloe Tryon shuffles down and whips through the gap wide of mid-on to get a boundary.
The run rate is up around two a ball, so they have to keep going.
And go they do. SIX MORE! Laura Wolvaardt wrecks a ball down the ground and well over the rope.
Followed by a wide. A couple of massive overs for the Proteas here – 29 from the last two.
13th over – McGrath again
By Jon Healy
Laura Wolvaardt offers her stumps, McGrath targets them, but Wolvaardt chunks a single down the ground.
No ball. Free hit for South Africa. Can the Proteas get something going off this freebie?
Wolvaardt goes whack high down the ground, and she’s caught on the rope by Perry, who flicks it back in-field to keep it to two. Excellent fielding.
Two more for South Africa, and ANOTHER NO BALL! Wolvaardt will reload on another free hit.
SIX! HUGE! Down on one knee and murdered over mid-wicket. This is a huge over for South Africa. Gifted runs by McGrath.
Fourteen off the over with two balls left.
But McGrath ends it with two dots. Good recovery after a very ordinary start.
12th over – Jess Jonassen will bowl it
By Jon Healy
South Africa, you feel, have to win the match with this partnership or say goodbye to their shot at the World Cup.
Chloe Tryon can hit big, and Laura Wolvaardt can carry her bat. That’s pretty much their only path to victory you’d think.
Wide called down leg, but there was a big under-edge on it and the umpire changed her call. Nicely done, admitting the mistake.
Farcical run-out and captain Sune Luus is gone
By Jon Healy
Luus drove straight to mid-off, called “yes” and took off for some reason, but there was never a run there. Wolvaardt rightly sent her back and it was just a mess. Mooney could’ve gone to either end and ultimately went to the keeper’s end, with Luus gone for 2.
It’s the second straight match in which the opposing captain has gifted Australia their wicket.
ABC/AAP
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