Always Want To Win

Over the years, Australia has excelled in various sports, including cricket. It was believed that the Australian men’s cricket team was nearly unbeatable. It didn’t matter what the playing conditions were or who the opponent was, they always won. For them, 1999-2007 were the years of dominance. A similar status is enjoyed by the Australian women’s cricket team at the world at the moment. Since they have won seven World Cup titles to date, no other team appears to pose a real challenge to their dominance in the sport. 

Resilience and Fighting Spirit

When the Australian women’s team failed to qualify for the final of the 2017 ODI World Cup, everyone believed that they were less dominant than before. However, the team rebounded with a bang when they won the T20 World Cup in 2019. Furthermore, they won the ODI Cricket World Cup in 2022, and they are currently the best team in women’s cricket. Several factors contributed to the team’s turnaround, including infrastructure, investment, domestic structure, and the quality of play demonstrated by the team. 

What Makes Them So Good and Dominant In Cricket?

• It is first and foremost due to the domestic structure that the team has dominated. A variety of women’s leagues are played in Australia every year, including the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) and the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL). Because Australian players play in both leagues continuously, they get accustomed to pressure situations in international games. As well as WBBL and WNCL teams, there is a robust system for club cricket in these leagues. Women are taking up cricket as a profession in increasing numbers even in the Covid era, according to the annual National Cricket Census. The WBBL features eight teams and is widely known. There are seven state-based teams participating in the WNCL, which is a domestic 50-over tournament.

• When it comes to quality leagues, England is the closest to Australia. Between 2016 and 2019, they had a Women’s Cricket Super League, or Kia Super League. It was also a good initiative to launch ‘The Hundred’ in its inaugural season, and it has also benefitted the players.  

• It is also important to note that these leagues also groom players from an early age. The Australian team had several young players in their squad for the World Cup including Annabel Sutherland, Darcie Brown, and Amanda Wellington. These players have all adapted nicely to international cricket after having played in the WBBL and WNCL. There is also a reason for Australia’s dominance. This is because of the fact that the spin department performs differently than the rest of the team. This is one reason why Australia’s spin department performs better than others. Although Asian teams are usually expected to have a greater number of wicket-taking spinners, the list of top-rated spinners in this list is topped by the English and Australian teams. As a spin department, the Australians have picked up 38 wickets, which is the most by any country, while England stands in a distant second place with 34 wickets. Jess Jonassen, who bowls slow left-arm orthodox, and Allana King, who bowls leg-breaks, are the two leading wicket-takers for Australia. 

• Another feature that separates the Australian team from other sides is the level of intent shown by their batters at all times. The batters’ strike rate is very impressive, in my opinion. Throughout the course of the tournament, Alyssa Healy scored runs at an astonishing strike rate of 103.67. Beth Mooney is another batter who has an impressive strike rate as she amassed 330 runs with a strike rate of 100.92. In the top five batters with the highest strike rates in the tournament, three Australians are featured and two of them enjoy a considerable number of runs with a strike rate of around 100. While batting first in the tournament, their team totals were 310, 269, 305, and 356, which are indicative of the aggressive approach adopted by the batters. Also in the final, Healy scored 170 runs from 138 balls, a strike rate of 123.19. While other teams rely on one or two batters to pace the innings, Australia has multiple batters capable of switching gears as the game progresses. 

Final Words

It is no doubt that the Australian women’s team has become a very dominant force in women’s cricket. They will probably continue to dominate the game for some years to come until other countries change their approach to the game so that they play according to their template.