Due to their dominance in the format, Australia is the favorite of the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup.
They are the side to beat, having won six of the eight editions that have been contested and taking first place in the previous three competitions.
Australia is at the top of women’s T20 cricket because of their fantastic record and exceptional consistency, but there are rumors that they could be more vulnerable than they were.
Australia has displayed symptoms of weakness ever since Beth Mooney made the honest admission, “We know we’re being hunted,” following their 2023 victory in South Africa.
They lost the Twenty20 International portion of the multi-format Ashes series, lost home Twenty20 International matches against South Africa and the West Indies and had batting collapses in two of their three World Cup qualifying matches against New Zealand.
Even while these losses are small, they give rivals like India and England hope that they can finally break Australia’s hegemony in women’s Twenty20 cricket.
But Australia’s team is still quite strong. The fact that 12 of the 15 players who raised the trophy at Newlands 20 months ago are still there is a testament to the team’s strength and continuity.
However, there have been adjustments, chief among them the departure of Meg Lanning, the group’s prolific leader who established high standards before quitting.
Now that she has assumed the role of captain, Alyssa Healy is responsible for carrying Australia’s legacy.
Healy’s ability to lead will be tested as she attempts to keep Australia’s winning streak going and establish herself as the team’s new captain.
Phoebe Litchfield, a left-hander who is 21 years old and already making waves in the world of international cricket, is one player to watch. Despite being surrounded by a group of seasoned champions, Litchfield has demonstrated enormous potential.
When she got a half-century in her second Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) match at sixteen, she cemented her reputation early in her career.
She had a little decline in performance towards the conclusion of her rookie season, but she recovered well enough to score 450 runs at an average of 130.43 in the Northern Superchargers.
She backed that up in the World Cup warm-up matches with a career-best 64* against New Zealand.
Litchfield’s progress should be closely monitored as she is expected to replace Lanning in the middle order if she can overcome the groin ailment that has kept her out of action leading up to the event.
Australia’s main group-stage match is scheduled in Sharjah on October 13 versus India. It’s interesting to note that in their last two World Cup encounters—in Sydney in 2018 and Guyana in 2020—Australia has not emerged victorious in a group that included India.
In their rematch in the 2023 semifinals, Australia prevailed by a slim margin of five runs. These two titans of women’s cricket may decide their place in Group A and their opponents in the semifinals in their impending match.
As the defending champions, Australia hopes to maintain their supremacy when they play Sri Lanka on October 5 in the World Cup.
Despite the sporadic signs of weakness, Australia is still the team to beat, with Healy leading the way and a roster full of established skill.
