Four things we learnt about women’s cricket at T20 World Cup

New Zealand became world champions for the first time in their history by beating South Africa by 32 runs in Dubai.

No Kiwi team, men’s or women’s, had ever won a T20 World Cup before Sunday night, and their victory was down to an inspired performance by leg-spinning all-rounder Amelia Kerr.

Having held together New Zealand’s innings, with 43 off 38 as they reached 158 for five, Kerr then took three for 24 with the ball, including a vital double-wicket strike in the 10th over which turned the game from being in the balance to giving the Kiwis the advantage.

This was New Zealand’s first appearance in a T20 World Cup final since 2010, and the first time they had reached the semi-finals since 2016.

They are a surprise, but deserving, winner.

Coming into the competition, they had lost 10 consecutive matches and had suffered a clean sweep against England over the summer.

But a shock win over India in their opening group game set the tone for their tournament as they then surged to the last four where they defeated a West Indies team who had knocked out England.

When the final delivery was bowled, captain Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates went straight to each other and embraced. They had both played in New Zealand’s two World Cup final defeats in 2009 and 2010. Over a decade later, they are world champions.

It has been a tournament full of shocks and surprises, as the almighty Australia, who had won six of the last seven T20 world titles, were thrashed in the semi-finals by South Africa, while neither England nor India made it out of the group stage.

So what did we learn about women’s cricket during this T20 World Cup?

The gap between the best and the rest is closing…

…but not by as much as results may suggest. This is the first World Cup final where neither Australia nor England have made it to the final. Combined with India’s (and England’s) failure to make it out of the group stage and a first-time winner to be crowned, it suggests that the gulf between the world’s best teams and the chasing pack is no longer as wide as it was.

Yet both England and Australia were knocked out after one-off aberrations in a competition where they had otherwise been dominant.

Finalists New Zealand came into the tournament on a run of 10 straight losses at the hands of England and Australia while Australia’s head-to-head record against Pakistan is 30-nil. England had beaten the West Indies on 13 consecutive occasions before their group-stage defeat.

This competition has shown that on their day, the rest are capable of beating the best. While this is progress, it does not reflect that wider domination still exists and that there is huge disparity in terms of funding and resources.

“Honestly speaking, we probably just don’t have it like a lot of the rest of the teams,” said West Indies captain Hayley Matthews after their semi-final loss to New Zealand. “Back home in the Caribbean, sometimes we don’t have facilities and a lot of our girls come from very humble beginnings.

“To be given this opportunity to come out here, represent your nation, and make a living out of it, for every single person it changes their lives.”

Surprising atmospheres

Crowds have not always been large in number, but they have been in volume. Australia v India at Sharjah was the high watermark of the competition, with 15,000 crammed into a unique and superb cricket venue to watch a thrilling match.

It was a genuinely fantastic spectacle and a raucous atmosphere. When matches involved sub-continent teams, they were well attended with expats turning out in force to support their home nation.

That there have been great atmospheres and crowds is a relief. The tournament’s late switch to the UAE, which is known for matches being played in front of sparse crowds, threatened to produce a sterile atmosphere. Thankfully this proved not to be the case.

Fielders drop the ball

The standard of catching at this World Cup has been historically bad. Across both men’s and women’s cricket, around 75-80 per cent of chances are taken. In this tournament, just 60 per cent of chances have been held.

There are some theories as to why this has been the case. Both male and female players talk about the difficulty adjusting to fielding under floodlights and women play far fewer night matches. Furthermore, the floodlights used at Dubai, which are known as the “ring of fire”, are unusual with some players finding it harder to pick up the ball.

Both those theories can be considered as mitigating factors to an extent, but in truth they are kind to the point of condescending. When players have been asked why it is happening, they have been at a loss. Sometimes, shockers happen. And this has been one of them.

The power shift is coming

The West Indies men’s side sparked a T20 revolution in 2016 when they found a winning formula by prioritising six-hitting above all else. Two sixes and four dot balls is better than one six and five singles. This simple mindset shift changed the way T20 cricket was played.

The West Indies women might be inspiring the same. Qiana Joseph, whose onslaught knocked England out, is far from the most technically correct batter and batted as low as nine in the warm-up games. But in a competition where 130 was often a par score, the Windies chanced their arm and found success in taking the attack to their opponents. A strategy that South Africa then copied in their victory over Australia.

Australia have dominated for the past decade-plus by being the best overall team in every department. And pound-for-pound, they are still without doubt the best team in the world. However, what we learnt at this tournament is you can take that down by prioritising power.