‘An indomitable force’: International stars react to Australia’s triumph and commiserate with South Africa
Meg Lanning’s incredible Australian side made it a hat-trick of T20 crowns with their victory over tournament hosts South Africa at Newlands on Sunday.
A first-innings total of 156/6 proved too much for South Africa to chase down, as the Australian attack delivered a masterclass in defending a total.
Australia finish the tournament with: the trophy, the Player of the Tournament award (thanks to Ash Gardner), two of the four leading run-scorers, and two of the three leading wicket-takers.
And the praise showered in from familiar names in the sport.
Australian women’s team. are an indomitable force, and have been for so long. Deserved champions once again. What has been pleasing is to see that South Africa are heading in the right direction.
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) February 26, 2023
Australia's dominance is so evident when you watch them play in these big tournaments & you gotta have a flawless day to beat them. Commiserations to South Africa, they were brilliant throughout the tournament after the first loss #AUSWvsSAW @T20WorldCup @ICC
— Ahmed Raza (@ahmedrazauae) February 26, 2023
What a day! Awesome atmosphere at Newlands.
— Mpumelelo Mbangwa (@mmbangwa) February 26, 2023
Congratulations and kudos to Australia. 🫡#ICCT20WorldCup
Australia’s Women’s team are absolutely fantastic .. 👏👏👏👏👏👏
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 26, 2023
Formidable Aussies - Meg Lanning reigning again.
— Marina Iqbal (@MarinaMI_24) February 26, 2023
Congrats @AusWomenCricket@ProteasWomenCSA deserve every bit of appriciation for playing clinical cricket on home soil 🙌#ICCWomensT20WorldCup #AusWvsSAW https://t.co/UcDYsbrHj8
Australia showing yet again why they are the greatest sporting team of all time.
— Alexandra Hartley (@AlexHartley93) February 26, 2023
Congratulations Australia 👏🏽
South Africa, you’ve created history, that is enough to be proud of 🫶🏼#t20worldcup2022
Australia’s triumph was built on the back of a Player of the Match knock from opening batter Beth Mooney.
And the continued brilliance of the batter (ranked second in the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Batting Rankings) didn’t go unnoticed.
In Mooney the @AusWomenCricket trust 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽#T20WorldCup
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) February 26, 2023
What does Beth Mooney and Ben Stokes have in common, they are players for the big occasion and World Cup finals #AUSvsSA #T20WorldCup2023
— Monty Panesar (@zkp_scroll) February 26, 2023
MOONEY! MOONEY!#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/0pPv1d8gZj
— Australian Women's Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) February 26, 2023
South Africa’s heartbreak means that the nation’s wait for a senior ICC World Cup win goes on.
But some excellent individual performances, a capacity crowd and a superb tournament overall represents a huge step forward for both the Proteas and women’s sport in South Africa as a whole.
Our @ProteasWomenCSA did South Africa proud, gave it everything against an incredible Australian team. Congratulations Australia #T20WomensWorldCup
— Graeme Smith (@GraemeSmith49) February 26, 2023
Proud!!!
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) February 26, 2023
Thank you South Africa 🇿🇦
— Natalie Germanos 🏏 (@NatalieGermanos) February 26, 2023
This was special to be part of
I will miss this tournament #t20worldcupfinal #T20WorldCup #TurnItUp
Match highlights as Meg Lanning’s Australia beat South Africa in an entertaining final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in Cape Town.