South Africa conquer Australia to prove that no team in cricket is invincible

By K.R. Nayar
From Dubai International Stadium

Australian women walked into the semi-final of the ICC T20 Women’s tournament against South Africa at the Dubai International Stadium with the reputation of being an unshakable team. They had every reason to feel superior, having beaten every opponent in this tournament. Besides being the defending champions, they have also won the title six times. However, regardless of a team's history or reputation, cricket has repeatedly shown that the winner is always the team that believes they can win and gives their best.

South Africa's moment of joy   

Past history has no relevance 

 

The South Africans believed they could do it. Their past record of never having beaten Australia didn't matter. The fact that their opponents reached the semi-final undefeated didn’t seem to faze them. What mattered most to South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch was to keep scoring freely, apply pressure by attacking, and hit boundaries and sixes. Their chase towards Australia’s total of 134 for 5 was as if they had nothing to lose and everything to gain. At 8:49 pm, South Africa carved out a new chapter in the history of women’s cricket by ousting Australia, the same team that had beaten them in the 2023 World Cup final.

 

South Africa sail into the final. Photo: Proteas Women Twitter  

 

A huge message for women's cricket 

 

Without taking away anything from Australia and respecting their years of dominance, what South Africa achieved on Thursday will be a great morale booster for women’s cricket. It was important to prove that other teams too can beat Australia if they raise their game. In fact, after India’s defeat to Australia, I had written: “The close nine-run defeat taught India that Australia, six-time champions and semi-finalists in all nine editions of the Women’s T20 World Cup, is a team that can be beaten by capitalizing on their mistakes.” All that the South Africans did was to make that happen by capitalizing on Australia’s errors in both batting and bowling.

 

Anneke Bosch celebrates her half century. Photo: Proteas Women Twitter

Australians were off their plan

 

Australian stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath, during the post-match press conference, candidly admitted: “They (the South Africans) made it look like a pretty good wicket when they batted, and we were just slightly off with our plan. So, with just slightly off all around, we came up against a team that executed everything really well.”

 

Australia did struggle to adapt to South Africa’s tight bowling. From the first ten overs, they could only muster 53 for 2. Ellyse Perry and Phoebe Litchfield accelerated the run rate and took the score close to 140, but to be safe, they should have scored at least 20 more runs.

 

An achiever as leader shows the way

 

The South Africans batted with the understanding that the target was within reach. Their skipper, who led by example by opening the innings and playing a fine knock, has been an achiever all her life. As a student, she graduated from Parklands College in 2017 with seven distinctions and always topped her class. For someone like her, motivating her teammates to triumph over Australia must have been natural.

 

A well deserved congratulations for Laura Wolvaardt

Cricket backs the brave 

 

Player of the match Anneke Bosch, who cracked a brilliant unbeaten 74, revealed during the post-match press conference: “We had this belief that we could do it, and I’m really glad we could get over the line today.” This result also proves that cricket rewards those who play positively and bravely on the day.

 

 Brief scores:

South Africa bt Australia by 8 wkts. Australia 134/5 from 20 overs (Beth Mooney 44, Ellyse Perry 31; Ayabonga Khaka 2/24, Marizanne Kapp 1/24)South Africa 135/2 from 17.2 overs (Anneke Bosch 74 not out, Laura Wolvaardt 42; Annabel Sutherland 2/26).