A sporting dynasty: Numbers highlighting Australia’s cricketing dominance
NEW DELHI: After another emphatic tournament victory for Australia’s women, let’s run through some of the unrivaled facts and figures highlighting the team’s incomparable quality in cricket.
A half-century by batter Beth Mooney and brilliant death bowling helped Australia clinch their sixth ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title, as they defeated South Africa by 19 runs in the final at Cape Town on Sunday.
6 – Titles won by Australia in Women’s T20 World Cups
After Australia’s victory over South Africa at Newlands, they have now won the competition three times in a row, giving them six victories in the previous eight editions (2018, 2020, 2023).
Beth Mooney led all scorers with 74* as the top-ranked team in the world recorded 156/6 at Newlands. South Africa’s chase was stalled by an outstanding bowling performance, as the Proteas fell 20 runs short of their goal.
5 – ICC titles won by Meg Lanning as captain
Australian skipper Meg Lanning now has the highest number of major International Cricket Council (ICC) trophies as a captain in the history of the sport. Lanning as a skipper has won a total of five tournaments. These tournaments include the 2022 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup and 2014, 2018, 2020 and 2023 editions of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. This makes her the most decorated captain in the history of the sport.
4 – Consecutive fifties scored by Beth Mooney across ICC and Commonwealth Games finals
Making 74* at Newlands on Sunday, Mooney’s 61 was Australia’s top score in their Commonwealth Games Gold Medal match against India, and her impact was also felt in Australia’s Cricket World Cup Final win over England, making 62 from 47 balls.
After scoring an unbeaten 78 against India three years ago, Mooney also has two straight 50s in T20 World Cup finals.
3 – Titles held concurrently (T20 World Cup, Cricket World Cup, Commonwealth Games gold medal)
Australia previously held the three championships simultaneously after winning the first Commonwealth Games final, but with the victory in Cape Town, they can now claim to have won all three in a single calendar year.
In emphatic fashion, the team’s most recent wins in the three competitions were all unbeaten.
9 – Women’s T20Is Australia have lost in the last 73 outings
T20 cricket is viewed as unpredictable since individual performances often determine team outcomes, yet Australia has achieved an unmatched level of consistency because to its overall high level of play.
Their record in the short format is bettered by their stretch in the same period in ODIs, winning 43 of the last 45 matches.
1 – Australian players to score 100 runs and take 10 wickets at a Women’s T20 World Cup
Ash Gardner (110 runs, 10 wickets) joins West Indies legend Deandra Dottin as the only other player to achieve the feat (121 runs, 10 wickets).
Unlike Dottin’s 2018 effort, Gardner’s exploits led to a T20 World Cup title in 2023. (ANI)
