Incredible to be here in SA: Beth Mooney after Australia clinch Women's T20 World Cup
Feb 26, 2023
Cape Town [South Africa], February 26 : After Australia crowned Women's T20 World Cup champions for the sixth time, the star of the summit clash Beth Mooney expressed happiness and said it was an incredible experience to win the tournament in South Africa.
A half-century by batter Beth Mooney and brilliant death bowling helped Australia clinch their sixth ICC Women's T20 World Cup title, as they defeated South Africa by 19 runs despite a valiant knock from opener Laura Wolvaardt in the final at Cape Town on Sunday.
In the summit clash against hosts South Africa, Mooney struck a match-winning unbeaten 74 guiding her team to a respectable total of 156/6 after Australia suffered early blows from Proteas bowlers.
"Very special win. Incredible to be here in South Africa and play in a ground as special as this. I wasn't really calm in the middle. The girls will tell you later. The crowd were very impressive. It was a really tough wicket and I was a little too hard on myself in the middle. Really disappointed with my outings in the first couple of games. But the team always believed in me to turn it around. The whole squad, support staff have been amazing," Mooney said in a post-match presentation.
Coming to the match, Australia put up 156/6 on the board in their 20 overs after electing to bat first. Beth Mooney shined for Australia with an unbeaten 74 in 53 balls, with nine fours and a six. Gardner also contributed a vital 29-run knock of 21 balls.
Shabnim Ismail (2/26) finished as the leading wicket-taker for her side. Marizanne Kaap also took two wickets for 35 runs. Nonkululeko Mlaba and Chloe Tryon took a wicket each.
In the chase of 157, South Africa was struggling at 54/3 in 10.4 overs. A 55-run stand for the fourth wicket between Laura Wolvaardt and Chloe Tryon brought back the hosts into the game. But Australia re-established their grip on the match by dismissing Laura for a 48-ball 61, consisting of five fours and three sixes.
Megan Schutt, Gardner, Darcie Brown and Jess Jonassen each took a wicket. Mooney was named as the 'Player of the Match' for her half-century.
Ashleigh also clinched the 'Player of the Tournament' award. She made 110 runs in five innings at an average of 36.66 and a strike rate of 119.56. Her best individual score in the tournament was 31. She also finished as the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, taking 10 wickets in the tournament at an economy rate of 6.25, with the best bowling figures of 6.25.
