WOMEN’S T20: GOLDEN AGE
This generation of Aussie women’s cricketers has enjoyed great fortune – and we’re lucky to get to watch such a great team, writes Brittany Carter.
This generation of Australian female cricketers has enjoyed the fortune of arriving when it did. But as Brittany Carter writes, this team has built tself into what could potentially be one of our great national sides – a status they can confirm with the coming T20 World Cup.
Since the Australian women’s cricket team was bundled out of the 2017 ODI World Cup semi-final, they’ve had unprecedented success. Ranked number one in both the one-day and T20 International formats, they won the 20-over World Cup in late 2018 and have since outclassed New Zealand, England, the West Indies and Sri Lanka in separate bilateral series.
In fact, the Australians have only lost a single Ashes T20 game across the entire 21 matches they’ve played this year; leaving other nations scratching their heads and looking to update their domestic programs for fear of falling behind.
But why have they been so successful? Of course, part of it is the rise in professionalism of the women’s game and on the back of some freakish, world-class players such as Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy and Meg Lanning. However, head coach Matthew Mott attributes the purple patch to the fallout of the failure and
“ALEX BLACKWELL WAS THE ONE THAT COINED THE PHRASE ‘GO OUT AND PLAY LIKE YOUR 12-YEAR-OLD SELF’ AND THAT’S WHAT WE TRY TO DO AS A GROUP.”
heartbreak of that 2017 World Cup exit.
Meeting a couple of months later in Brisbane to assess the loss against India, Mott says it was a “crucible moment” that would forge a new set of values for the group.
“Like anything, sometimes you just need a bit of a jolt to refocus and I think we’d probably been cruising along pretty well and getting some good results playing at about 90 percent capacity,” he said.
“A lot of those times, that was good enough to win but when teams really challenged us like India did in that semi-final, we didn’t have the ability to go up and match it.”
Opening up a discussion about how they could improve that day, it was clear to the coaching staff and players that they couldn’t keep rolling out the same style of play.
“Probably the key value that’s helped us take the extra step, is the fearlessness of the team and taking the game on,” Mott said.
“Particularly in T20 cricket, where I think we thought our one-day cricket would just roll into T20 and other teams – like New Zealand at the time – were really taking the game on and putting us under pressure.
“I think our win-rate at that stage was only 50 percent in T20 cricket over that 12-month period so we had to improve.”
Meanwhile, players such as all-rounder Delissa Kimmince believes the team’s culture is a massive factor. Originally a part of the Australian set-up back in 2008 when she debuted at 18 years old, Kimmince quit cricket for an extended period because she was overwhelmed with the personal pressure.
Now 30 and working as a full-time cricketer on a national contract, she says she’s incredibly grateful to be back and part of such a special group. “A few years ago, there was a big cultural change and I think that was through Matthew Mott and more so probably
the way he wanted to play the brand of cricket,” she said.
“But I think all the girls that were involved in that sort of changing of the guard have encouraged us to back yourself and believe in what you can do, while remembering it’s important to be a good person.
“Coming back, I’ve really enjoyed the group, it’s so family-like, you feel so welcome … and I think that goes a long way in terms of the success we’ve already had and hopefully the success we’ll have down the track.”
Mott agrees a strong foundation of support has been built on an element of friendship, but has also noticed a level of maturity and confidence that has evolved by keeping a similar group of players together for some time.
“On the field we want to be as ruthless and professional and clinical as we can, but off the field we want to be human and enjoy our time away from the game. The playing group more than anything has finally embraced that you can be a great cricketer and still switch on and off a bit.
“I think [former Australian batter] Alex Blackwell was the one that coined the phrase ‘go out and play like your 12-year-old self’ and that’s what we try to do as a group and we’re getting
THE SCARY THING, IS THAT MOTT DOESN’T EVEN THINK THE AUSTRALIAN TEAM IS ANYWHERE NEAR ITS BEST YET.
better at it all the time.
“When we go on tour now, you never see the same groups hanging out together and I think that’s a really good sign with different people hanging out, and even staff and players just casually catching up for coffees.”
Likely a mix of all the factors above, the ongoing success of the team has had broader reach. It’s played a part in the rise of women’s sport in Australia, pushed the agenda of equality and inspired many young girls and boys to take up the game.
With results, the group has been able to demand equal pay, better conditions and treatment, and recognition for its former players. What’s also helped is the mainstream media are finally reporting on said success, and the team was used as a greater example of Australian sportsmanship during the ball tampering scandal.
But all of this is not lost on the national coach, who understands he’s witnessing a golden era in the women’s game.
“Look, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the players that have come before this group that have done it tough and had to work full-time jobs and take leave without pay,”
Mott said.
“They’re the bedrock of this whole movement and our players are incredibly grateful. They love it when ex-players come into the dressing room because they’re the ones that ultimately made the most sacrifice.
“They played in an era where there was no exposure and there was no presence in the community and I think that’s where we’ve got a competitive advantage over some of the other sports who are trying to create that from scratch, so we’re very lucky in cricket.”
The scary thing, is that Mott doesn’t even think the Australian team is anywhere near its best yet and with the amount of young talent popping up in the Women’s Big Bash League, we’re likely to see players just as good as
Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy and Megan Schutt as time goes on.
“We’re incredibly blessed right now to have a number of world-class players in our team but it’s not that long ago that we had the Karen Roltons and the Belinda Clarks, who are great players as well.
“The talent we have now has made for quite an amazing era but we’re already seeing a number of players emerging through the WBBL and every time you think you can’t replace a player, another one pops up.”
Whether the Australian women’s team of the future will have the same level of dominance is hard to say, especially as India starts to catch up. It’s a warning that spurs Mott’s desire to constantly seek improvement.
“Hopefully for Australian cricket’s sake we keep producing but we know the likes of India, who are all of a sudden awoken to women’s cricket, are going to be very hard to stop within five to ten years once they get their systems and structures right through sheer weight of numbers.
“If they take the game as seriously as we do in this country, then in the next five years, they’re going to be producing a plethora of talent coming through.”