Australia’s women cricketers have been celebrated as one of the greatest sporting teams in the nation’s history following their recent victory in the Twenty20 World Cup. Led by Meg Lanning, the team triumphed over hosts South Africa by 19 runs at Newlands in Cape Town, securing the trophy for the sixth time in the last seven tournaments. The Australian newspaper remarked, “Don Bradman had the Invincibles. Meg Lanning has the Immortals.” While Bradman’s legendary team was recognized for a single tour of England after World War II, the Australian women’s team has established an era of unprecedented dominance in the sport.
In addition to their latest T20 success, Australia is also the reigning 50-over World Cup champion and claimed the inaugural Commonwealth Games gold medal last year. The broadsheet emphasized the significance of their achievements, stating, “It’s a spectacular achievement and one that has been criminally underappreciated in recent weeks.” They criticized the omission of Lanning’s team from the nominations for the Laureus World Sports Awards, calling it a disgrace and a mockery of the once-prestigious awards. In contrast, the England women’s football team, along with five other teams, including the French men’s rugby team and Formula One’s Red Bull, received nominations.
The Sydney Morning Herald praised the Australian women’s team as one of the all-time greats, highlighting their impact on the sport. “They’ve played in a way that has changed the status and perception of women’s cricket forever and made some of them household names,” the publication noted. It further stated that when considering their achievements, grace, inspiration to a generation, and social impact, they have set more benchmarks than any other team.
Under Lanning’s leadership, the team has secured five titles at ICC tournaments, with Sunday’s victory adding to her previous wins in 2014, 2018, and 2020, as well as the 2022 one-day World Cup in New Zealand. Overall, she has been part of seven World Cup-winning teams. Opener Beth Mooney, who played a crucial role in the victory with an unbeaten 74, expressed her belief that Lanning should be regarded as one of the finest leaders in world sport. “When Meg retires — hopefully not for a few more years — I think she’ll go down as one of the greatest leaders not just in cricket, but in sport, and just generally as well,” Mooney told reporters. She praised Lanning’s cricketing intellect, composure under pressure, and empathetic nature.
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