ICC congratulates Australia on winning ICC Women’s Championship
The International Cricket Council has congratulated world champion Australia for winning the prestigiousICC Women’s Championship with its last set of matches still to go.
Australia emerged the winner following England’s five-wicket win for a 2-1 series victory over the West Indies which has put Australia in an unassailable position with a tally of 30 points after 18 of its 21 matches.
After 18 matches, England is on 23 points and can reach a maximum of 29 points at the end of the tournament, while the West Indies can at best reach 28 points after its three remaining matches. The other teams can only finish lower even if they win all their remaining matches.
ICC Women’s Committee Chair and former England captain Clare Connor said Australia’s consistency through the tournament helped it emerge on top in style.
“The ICC Women’s Championship is not an easy tournament to play in, because you compete against the best teams of the world. All credit to Australia for winning the championship with some matches still to go. It has taken consistent performances over a long period of time for this achievement.”
She also congratulated Australia captain Meg Lanning and said the UK looks forward to hosting her side next year for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017.
“Meg has been an inspirational leader, which has made her side a dominant force in women’s cricket. Under her captaincy, Australia has shown an attractive brand of cricket that bodes well for the women’s game.
“Australia was the first team to qualify for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 and will definitely be the team to watch when England and Wales host the tournament,” Connor said.
In the tournament to date, six-time world champion Australia blanked the West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka by 3-0 margins, while it prevailed by 2-1 margins over England, India and New Zealand.
Lanning has been the leading batter for Australia with 1,000 runs in the championship, including four centuries and a highest score of 135 not out. All-rounder Ellyse Perry is the second-highest scorer with 797 runs, while Nicole Bolton has contributed 704 runs in the championship.
Left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen has been the most successful bowler for Australia with 29 wickets, left-arm spinner Kristen Beam has 21 wickets so far while Perry’s medium-pace bowling has got her 20 wickets.
While the top four sides from the ICC Women’s Championship qualify direct for the ICC Women’s World Cup, the bottom four sides will get a final chance of qualification through the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in February 2017.
Australia will be presented the championship trophy following its final ICC Women’s Championship match against South Africa in Sydney on 23 November.
