The Southern Stars can be beaten, but for the gap to truly close teams have to sustain that effort across a multi-format series
After two historic wins by South Africa’s women’s cricket team – one each in the T20 and ODI series – the question leading into this week’s Test is this: has the gap between Australia and the rest of the world finally closed? That such a question has even been raised has prompted defensive shots in Australia, where there is a feeling the team are reaping the rewards of investing in their women’s program – other countries should just do the same if they want to succeed.
In some ways, that is fair enough. There are certainly other countries who have put enough money into their men’s teams to suggest they have the resources to better fund their women if they chose to. But isn’t it in Australia’s best interest for world cricket to stay competitive? For there to be some drama in their matches, rather than the raising of every trophy to become a formality. Australians may love a winning team, but eventually “win fatigue” will set in and people begin to lose interest. The record-breaking crowd at the MCG for the T20 Women’s World Cup final in 2020 was in part driven by Australia’s earlier loss to India and the numerous close calls throughout the tournament.