SUPER HEROES PREVAIL
Black Panther channelled as Aussies absorb all the pressure in the world
AUSTRALIA’S cricketers harnessed the power of the “Black Panther” during their Women’s T20 World Cup campaign to help them absorb all the pressure and expectation and walk away as champions.
Player of the final Alyssa Healy revealed she came up with the analogy of Marvel superhero the Black Panther, whose special suit absorbs energy, to inspire the Aussies to weather the storm that the tournament threw at them over the past two weeks in the form of injuries, form slumps and even rain.
“For every big series, we have a refocus about what’s important to our group,” Healy (pictured right) said after belting 75 off 39 balls in Sunday’s final against India.
“We knew that every single opposition was going to come really hard at us in every game.
“It was about how we could absorb that pressure and throw it back in their face, and me being the nerdy person in the team, I referred to the Black Panther in the movie where his suit absorbs the energy from his opponents and when he’s ready, he forces it back upon them.”
The Aussies were clinical in their 85-run win over India, which captain Meg Lanning as the “best of my career so far”.
Lanning, who paced her hotel for the 40 minutes before the team left for the MCG for the game, praised her players for their calm heads.
“To come through today was probably the least stressful game of the whole tournament and was just amazing,” she said.
“Everybody was on and in the warmup you could just tell we were ready to go, and this group always performs on the big stage.
“The first couple of games, we didn’t have that sense of calmness … (but) we were able to bounce back … that’s a real credit to the group.”
Healy said it was clear that during their innings the Aussies had got under the skin of the Indians, revealing she was given a “gob-full” as she came off the ground after being dismissed. “India dominated with the ball the last time we played them and it was my job to go out there and put them on the back foot early, and for it to come off was fantastic,” she said, adding she didn’t think anything would top walking out in front of more than 86,000 people.
“I enjoyed every single minute. I don’t think you saw me without a smile on my face that whole time, because we just went out there and enjoyed the moment we were able to create,” she said.
“Cricket’s done some amazing things in this country for female athletes and this is really just a celebration of that.”
Healy, whose husband, Australian men’s quick Mitchell Starc, was in the stands, said she’d also won the bragging rights at home.
“One hundred per cent me. I’ve been a part of a lot of successful World Cup campaigns now, but to do it here on home soil was always going to be incredibly difficult, so I guess Mitch and I are one-all on that stage,” she said.