World Cup final elevates women's sport to its rightful place

The sense that Sune Luus and her Proteas team have achieved more than just winning a couple of cricket matches was encapsulated by the scene in Campground Road yesterday morning, where a lengthy queue had formed outside the Newlands ticket office. 

In a country where women’s sport gets little to no publicity, the sight of that queue was deeply symbolic. “It’s been an amazing tournament, on and off the field, and as far as cricket is concerned, we are achieving our goals,” said Luus.

“Off the field we’re also doing the job we wanted to do. The goal was to inspire a nation, get women’s cricket on the map and for women’s sport in general to be put on the map.

"It’s something we never thought would happen in our country — people standing in queues to watch a women’s cricket match. But that’s just where we are, it’s where women’s sport is growing to, it’s something very special.

"I hope that once this World Cup is finished and we’re playing normal series and normal matches, the crowd won’t be any different and the vibe and energy will be the same.”

It is, indeed, the weeks and months ahead that will determine how transformative this tournament has been for women’s sport in South Africa.

The country hosts the Netball World Cup later this year and along with Banyana Banyana’s success in last year’s Women’s Afcon, there certainly appears to be a message from the athletes and the public for federations and corporations about women’s sport deserving of greater support and marketing. 

Stepping out from that bigger picture, Luus’s charges still have a final to play and they couldn’t have chosen a tougher opponent against which to try and make history.

The Australians have played in each of the last six T20 World Cup finals, losing only one of those to the West Indies in 2016. In addition, their record against South Africa is dominance personified — across 21 One-Day and T20 Internationals, South Africa is yet to beat Australia. 

Their last defeat came a week ago in Gqeberha where Meg Lanning’s side won by six wickets, in a match in which the Proteas’ batting again let them down.

But a week is a bloody long time in sport with the Proteas drawing inspiration from the large crowds that have cheered them on, culminating in Friday’s pulsating win over England in the semifinal. 

“We were 40 runs short in that game (in Gqeberha) and whether we bat or bowl first (in the final), we will need to put up a good fight. For us it’s important to take the game as deep as possible whether we have 120 on the board or 190,” Luus said about the lessons her side had taken from that defeat.

It’s that kind of resilience that will be needed, because Australia showed in their own closely fought semifinal against India just how tough and resourceful they are. “I think having been put in pressure situations before helps,” said Lanning.

“I think you learn a lot in those times and we learnt a lot from the semifinal where we were under the pump a fair bit. I guess it just reiterated to us that you have to stay in the game and you have to be ready to take your chances when you get them and we were able to do that the other day.”

They will go into the final as heavy favourites as a result of all that experience. However, the Proteas have gradually gathered momentum over the last week.

They will play in front of the largest audience to watch a women’s-only sports event in South Africa. That in itself is inspirational. Imagine if they win it all.