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.
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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.
For now, there is still enough drama from game to game to keep people engaged. But the T20 and ODI series against South Africa have shown how much work (and luck) is needed to beat this Australian team. It can be done, but to sustain that effort across multiple games is something else entirely. England came close during the 2023 Ashes, but were still only able to draw the series. A few months later, India came out strongly with a Test win, but then faltered in the white-ball games. In the current series, South Africa have pulled off two courageous wins but the best they can do now is draw the series even if they manage to snag a Test win this week.
Just as T20s were a leveller for women’s cricket when first introduced, with the Australian women taking some time to translate their dominance in the ODI arena into the shortest format, the rarity of Tests in women’s cricket means they often provide other countries the best chance to beat Australia. The focus and tactical nous required for Test cricket takes practice – it can’t be copied and pasted from white-ball cricket. And while South Africa may not have played a Test since mid-2022, Australia have only played two in that time. They are ahead of the pack in practice, but not by much. With both teams still finding their feet, the outcome becomes less predictable and the “anything could happen” factor takes a prominent position.
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A significant amount of South Africa’s hopes hinge on talismanic all-rounder Marizanne Kapp. In the ODI that the visitors won, it was Kapp’s 75 with the bat that stabilised the innings and her three wickets at an economy rate of 2.4 that sealed the win. So too was she prolific in South Africa’s 2022 Test – a rain-affected draw with England – scoring 150 in the first innings to put her team into a dominant position. Kapp has pushed through a number of injury scares since arriving in Australia, and will need to be at the top of her game to give South Africa the best chance of taking the Test win and drawing the multi-format series.
The Australians will be determined to erase the memories of their last Test – a shock loss to India in Mumbai – and will be counting on the Perth sunshine to provide them with four full days of cricket. Even though a draw would be enough to secure the series win, the infrequency of opportunities to play Tests means they are hungry to win one every chance they get. With the famed bounce of the Waca pitch, Darcie Brown looms as a key figure for the Australians as they look to harness her express pace to take control of the match.
The debate over the gap is closing between Australia and the rest will continue to play out, for now the rare opportunity to take their exciting brand of cricket to the red-ball arena will be occupying the minds of the players. After a summer rich with stories from men’s Tests, this one is sure to tell a tale of its own.
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