Quantcast

More success ahead for Southern Stars

Lisa Sthalekar reflects on successful WT20 campaign

The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars have continued their unbeaten run of Women’s World T20 titles with a crushing defeat against arch-rivals England. Arguably they did it out of their comfort zone, with it being the first time Australia has won the WT20 final chasing a target.

In the days before the final the players trained hard in the nets and had prepared extremely well for the final match.  I also felt the Southern Stars has a distinct advantage over England in that all of the playing 11 had experienced a WT20 final, either in 2010 (West Indies) or 2012 (Sri Lanka). On the other hand, England had only five players having played in a WT20 final (Sri Lanka in 2012).

It was that fact and the belief that the Australians had more depth in both fielding and batting departments that I felt Australia were going to win.

In the lead up to this match, Australia lost their first match against New Zealand which made the equation pretty simple from there, “win every match and win it well.”

It wasn’t until the Southern Stars came up against unknown Ireland where their campaign kicked off and they started to put together better performances in both departments. A 78-run defeat of Ireland and then a 94-run win against Pakistan was enough to boost all of the players’ confidence going into the semi-final against the formidable West Indies.

Australia secured victory in the semi both through the experienced bowlers standing up when needed, and the ability of Meg Lanning to keep her team calm and focused on executing each delivery.

Image Id: ~/media/6EBC26656E4343B7A57F3A4E229DD23D

Although the top order didn’t get going at the start of the tournament, the bowlers did a sensational job with all seven bowlers used throughout the tournament having an impact at different stages.  However, the standout was Sarah Coyte with her slight medium pacers. 

Coyte’s ability to control her line and length and bowl at the death of the innings with precision made her extremely difficult to hit. Therefore, it was no surprise to see her for the first time in the top 10 T20 bowlers according to the ICC T20 rankings.

Although Coyte didn’t pick up wickets every match, in T20 cricket if you are able to go under six runs per over, you have done your job well. Coyte was at her destructive best for the final where she removed the dangerous Charlotte Edwards and Sarah Taylor and went on to take 3-17 and the honour of Player of the Final.

Image Id: ~/media/A2372762BF234E55B71AB3CFEA5808AC

Another player that has kept on improving since the home Ashes series is Jess Jonassen. The left-arm orthodox was given the responsibility to open up the innings with the ball and did a great job containing runs and picking up the first wicket a majority of the time.

Similar to Coyte, Jonassen saved her best for the final, playing a key role in showing England exactly what the Australians mindset was, but it was to be with the bat this time. For the semi-final and final the selectors felt that a left and right handed combination at the top of the order would be more effective in negating the opposition bowlers.  

Whilst the jury may have been out after the semi-final as to whether this would work, Jonassen made the strategic move a success with her efforts in the final.

Also during team discussions, the players highlight who the key opponents will be and are challenged to work out how to minimise their impact. Danielle Hazel had been one player that had been identified as being difficult to score runs off in the first six overs. 

Therefore, in the second over of the final, when Jonassen faced Hazel and hit her straight back over her head for six and then a further two fours when she dropped it short, Hazel’s effectiveness and confidence were negated and Jess had done her job. It was just the start the Australians needed when chasing a low target of 106 runs.

During this tournament Ellyse Perry stepped up into the allrounder position and carried her form from the home Ashes series into this tournament. Perry’s 41 runs off 29 deliveries against a fired up South African side really got the Southern Stars campaign going in the right direction, plus her partnership in the final with Lanning ripped the hearts out of the English, after she had already taken 2-13 to help restrict England to a below par score.

Image Id: ~/media/820D73D95EB74F618DB6AB9A0F161288

With the bat it is hard to go past Lanning as the star for the Australia. Even though the captain had a quiet start to the tournament by her standards, a devastating 126 runs off 65 deliveries against Ireland to get her going was sublime and very special to witness.  

That being said, I feel that in the final she stepped it up to another level by hitting Anya Shrubsole, the leading wicket-taker of the tournament and consequently the Player of the Series, for a massive six over mid-on. She didn’t score a century in the final but her batting was superb and saw Australia safely home with another World Cup trophy.

On the sidelines, we all thought Perry and Lanning might be out in the middle together to score the winnings runs – which would have been fitting given their fifty-plus partnership However with only a handful of runs required, and the rest of the team huddled close to the boundary ready to celebrate, their celebrations were put on ice for another few deliveries as we lost two wickets in four deliveries.

Jess Cameron joined Perry, who finally pulled the ball towards to players, preempting a charge onto the field only to realise they had to wait until the single was taken.  

But the run was taken and the team sprinted out on to the field, sparking a huge celebration, with the team song sung loudly and proudly out in the middle and the new fade away jump shot to end the team huddle, possibly bring in a new tradition for a new era of stars.

For the support staff there were hugs all round and a great feeling knowing that everyone had played their part in the teams success and that Australia were World Champions.

Once back in the change-rooms the team song was yelled again and the spraying of champagne began as all players had a chance to hold the trophy and capture that moment.

It is always interesting after this to see how each player celebrates; some sit down to reflect what has happened and a certain level of exhaustion hits as the adrenaline that has been lifting everyone has been emptied, whilst others enjoy the music by singing and dancing.

Once back at the hotel there seems to be a tradition of not showering, keeping your uniform on and displaying the winners’ medallion around your neck with pride as the singing, dancing and reflection continues.

The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars are such an exciting young group of players that it is scary to think what the team is capable of achieving in the next three to four years.