ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 : Amelia Kerr Delivers New Zealand’s First-Ever T20 World Cup Title

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Amelia Kerr has firmly established herself as one of the brightest stars in women’s cricket, especially after her outstanding performance in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. Leading New Zealand to their maiden T20 World Cup title, Amelia Kerr‘s all-round brilliance was pivotal in defeating South Africa in the final.

Amelia Kerr played a pivotal role in New Zealand’s win, contributing with both bat and ball. She scored 43 off 38 balls and took 3 crucial wickets, securing her team’s first-ever Women’s T20 World Cup title. Amelia Kerr’s all-round brilliance helped New Zealand post a challenging total of 158/5 in the final. Her composed batting under pressure was key in setting up a winning score against South Africa.

In addition to her batting, Amelia Kerr delivered with the ball, taking 3 wickets for 24 runs. Her leg-spin dismantled South Africa’s middle order, making it difficult for them to chase down the target.

Pitch and Toss

Pitch report: “The temperature is hovering around 30 degrees. Dimensions – 61 and 60 meters on the square. Straight is 73 meters. It is a dry surface and in the last two games there has been more boundaries scored in the powerplay of second innings. The average score is 127, but because it is a finals time it will be 140,” reckon Lisa Sthalekar and Pommie Mbangwa.

Toss : South Africa Women skipper Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and opts to field with no changes in the playing XI. New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine who also wanted to bat first also made no changes in the playing XI fielding first.

Amelia Kerr’s 43 runs and Brooke Halliday carries NZ-W to 158-5 in 20 overs

New Zealand came out punching knowing 134 and 141 by Australia and England respectively had been razed at this venue over the past few days. They lost Georgia Plimmer – who’d struck a couple of fours – in the second over, but Bates quickly took over. She had been striking at 90.77 in five innings coming into the final; here she showed intent right from the get go, getting a boundary – walloped over midwicket – off her second ball. But from 17 off 13, she slowed down as the introduction of spin made stroke-making a challenge.

New Zealand Women Batting Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNCricinfo
New Zealand Women Batting Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNCricinfo

By then, the pressure of a final had by then begun to gnaw at both teams. Marizanne Kapp missed a potential run-out opportunity against Bates in the fifth over when she couldn’t cleanly pick up a nudge at square leg. Sinalo Jafta missed a stumping opportunity in the sixth, failing to collect the ball as Bates was dragged out. It cost South Africa just 12 more though, as Bates fell for a 31-ball 32 attempting a ramp off Nonkululeko Mlaba in the eighth over.

The dismissals of Bates and Sophie Devine – due to the slowness of the surface – left New Zealand needing a massive effort from their middle order.

They went through 48 deliveries without a boundary in the middle overs. Amelia Kerr struggled, and didn’t find her hitting range until the last few deliveries of her 38-ball vigil that brought 43. It wasn’t until the arrival of Brooke Halliday, the left-hander, did New Zealand break out of a rut.

Halliday brought out a slog sweep in the 14th off Sune Luus to break the boundary drought, and once the shackles were broken, New Zealand had another boundary off the very next ball. By jumping around the crease and opening scoring areas behind square on the leg side through sweeps and slogs, Halliday’s presence breathed life into an innings that had been struggling to get out of second gear.

South Africa Women Bowling Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNcricinfo
South Africa Women Bowling Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNcricinfo

Halliday’s enterprise helped raise a half-century stand off just 37 balls with Amelia Kerr playing a support role. Halliday’s highest in T20Is, in 32 previous innings, had been 33 while striking at 82. Here, under the pressure of a final, Halliday’s career-best 38 had come of 28. A cameo from Maddy Green provided New Zealand a late lift: 48 off the last five, as they finished with 158, two less than the score they comfortably defended against India in their tournament opener.

New Zealand were delighted to be asked to bat first and it showed as Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer threw a few early punches. Ayabonga Khaka, however, altered her lengths expertly to have the latter caught by Sune Luus at long on in the second over. Marizanne Kapp, too, smartly changed her lengths to deny the batters a chance to play down the ground with ease but Amelia Kerr joined Bates to keep the runs flowing.

Laura Wolvaardt responded to that with two overs of left-arm spin in the PowerPlay which cost just 8 runs. Yet, New Zealand emerged from PowerPlay with 43/1 – the highest total in the phase against South Africa at this World Cup.

But as New Zealand persisted with taking batting risks, Wolvaardt persisted with her left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba. Bates was proactive with shuffling all over the crease to find scoring areas, but one such move brought her downfall as she missed with her attempt to move across and hit over fine leg, and was bowled by Mlaba.

The tussle in the middle got tighter but New Zealand then lost Sophie Devine in the 11th over to an LBW that needed the TV umpire’s nod. South Africa enjoyed an extended period of control through the middle-overs but Brooke Halliday broke the rut. When she swept Luus in the 14th over, it was New Zealand’s first four in 49 deliveries. On the very next ball, she picked up another boundary through long-on. Halliday got the pendulum of momentum to swing in her team’s favour as she and Kerr hit two more fours in the 15th over from Nadine de Klerk.

South Africa began to get a touch sloppy as they bowled a couple of back foot no-balls and allowed a partnership to fester between Halliday and Amelia Kerr. Chloe Tryon, however, returned to break it with the wicket of Halliday in the 18th over. Amelia Kerr threw her bat around before falling for 43 and New Zealand finished how they began – with 41 runs in the last four overs taking them past the 150-run mark.

Amelia Kerr’s 3 wickets burst guides NZ  to maiden T20I World Cup Title

New Zealand took a cue from their batting innings and introduced spin in the second over with Eden Carson and Fran Jonas trying to apply the squeeze. For the first three overs, South Africa managed just two boundaries, but kept hitting the ball into gaps to keep up with the asking rate.

In last year’s final, Laura Wolvaardt held the chase together, trying to get into a position from where she could tee off amid a collapse. Here, she decided to punch away as the enforcer, picking lengths early and pummeling with her strong forearms, showing a side of her game that is in stark opposition to her artistry.

With Tazmin Brits solid, it was the first time in the tournament that New Zealand failed to pick up a wicket in the powerplay. At 47 for 0, South Africa were on course.

South Africa Women Batting Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNcricinfo
South Africa Women Batting Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNcricinfo

Jonas broke through to dismiss Brits in the seventh, but it was Wolvaardt’s dismissal, attempting to hit Amelia Kerr inside-out only to find Bates at extra cover, that had a deflating effect on South Africa. That was Bates’ first of three catches in the innings. Five balls later, Amelia Kerr had her second when Anneke Bosch, who had knocked Australia out two nights ago with a sensational 74, tickled an attempted sweep to Izzy Gaze. Originally unsure if there was an edge, Amelia Kerr convinced Devine to review and was proven correct.

Carson then dealt the blow that arguably ended South Africa’s hopes when she had Kapp mistiming a slog to deep midwicket in the 12th over. Kapp’s agonizing walk back and Amelia Kerr’s ecstasy provided two contrasting emotions in one frame. A telling picture of who would have their hands on the trophy before the night was out.

New Zealand Women Bowling Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNCricinfo
New Zealand Women Bowling Line Up. Pic Credits: ESPNCricinfo

As always in a knockout fixture, Wolvaardt took charge by getting quick runs early on as South Africa had a steep required run rate to maintain. She and Tazmin Brits hit six fours between them in the PowerPlay to get to 47/0 in that period. The platform was there for South Africa to press ahead until Fran Jonas returned in the seventh over to put a spanner in their works.

Tazmin Brits, who’d made a slow start to the innings, took the spinner on and found Maddy Green at long-on. Amelia Kerr and Lea Tahuhu bowled a couple of tight overs to pile on the pressure, which cracked Wolvaardt in the 10th. After Anneke Bosch played out five dots in the previous over, Wolvaardt fell in the very next over trying to make amends.

She was lured into an uppish shot with a tossed up ball outside the off-stump from Amelia Kerr, that she hit to Suzie Bates at extra-cover. Amelia Kerr pushed the knife further into South Africa’s heart with the wicket of semifinal hero Bosch in the same over – caught behind by Isabella Gaze that came via a very good review decision. South Africa’s chase truly unraveled in the 12th and 13th over when they lost Marizanne Kapp – caught at deep square leg – and Nadine de Klerk – caught at short third.

The need to take risks brought the next few wickets as South Africa’s lower order threw their bats around in the hope of bridging the gap between runs required and balls remaining. In that process, Amelia Kerr and Rosemary Mair picked three wickets each, while a couple others picked one apiece to collectively end South Africa’s hopes of breaking their World Cup duck.

Presentations and Tournament wrap ups

Laura Wolvaardt the losing South Africa skipper said :  We obviously had a really good semi-final. Focus was to reset. Not get too ahead of ourselves. Knew we had a quality opponent in New Zealand to go up against. Didn’t play our best cricket tonight. They really came at us hard in the powerplay. At first we thought we could ride the wave a bit with a few wickets here and there. But they just kept going.

Probably let them score a bit too many. I don’t know (lessons?). Will have to have a good reflection on what really happened. Still fresh right now. Were backing ourselves at the halfway stage. They really put the squeeze after the powerplay. I think 7-11 was probably not our best phase but credit to New Zealand. Very exciting (on the side’s future). Have some really experienced players like Marizanne Kapp.

Have some youngsters on the bench as well who didn’t get an opportunity this World Cup. Really big thank you to our management. The work they put in behind the scenes isn’t noticed. The hours and hours they put to get us ready to play is something we are really appreciative of and they don’t get the recognition for.

Also just to the families who flew up. Lots of families flew up last night. It was a big mission to get visas. But most of them managed to be here. And to CSA and ICC for their support.

Sophie Devine the world cup winning skipper said :  I think once I get my hands around that trophy… I let myself dream last night about what it would be like to hold the trophy. Didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself. Hard to put into words what it means, not just to me but to this group of players. And for New Zealand Cricket as well. It’s been a long time between drinks.

The great thing about this group is we’ve known what we’ve been trying to achieve the last 18 months. Results haven’t gone in our favour but we know we’ve been building in the right direction. Look, we played the two best teams in the world for 15 games in a row. It was a pretty steep learning curve but we knew that we keep taking steps in the right direction. Absolutely, you want momentum and all that but we’ve rewritten it.

As you say, coming off 10 losses in a row. Coming at the World Cup, everyone starts at zero. Just speaks to the volume of who Suze is as a player that she’s now the most capped player in the history of the women’s game. It’s unbelievable to think that she can go out there and play with such aggression and such fearlessness. It set the tone for the rest of the lineup.

To have her in the lineup – everyone knows how special I find Suze. Spoken about at length before Lea is the sort of person you want in the team. No chance. I am done (changing mind on leaving captaincy?). Brooke was outstanding in the way she hit the pockets. Thing we’ve spoken as a group is the effort and energy you’ve put in. We all know she’s a once-in-a-generation player (Kerr).

What she was able to do tonight was incredible. Physically to do what she did with the bat, pretty sure she can’t feel her legs at the moment. She is not a bad cricketer but the person that she is, the world is her oyster. It’s scary to think how good she could be. Want to thank Laura and the South African side. They were outstanding, their semi vs Australia was unbelievable. I think I’m getting heckled now (crowd roars and gets restless).

Amelia Kerr Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament for her performances said : I’m a little bit speechless and I’m stoked to get the win considering what this team’s been through. It’s what dreams are made of. I thought the wicket was pretty good but slowed up a bit which I thought was probably not a bad thing with us bowling second. The way Brooke came out and hit, it was an outstanding contribution from everyone with Maddy hitting that six at the end.

She (Brooke) took so much pressure off me. I was struggling out there a lot and I was probably finding it a little bit hard to time the ball and she just came out there and hit two pockets and she did it in the semi-final and to do it again in the final is class. It wasn’t too bad (on her cramps).

I was cramping up while batting but afterwards in the field when I threw the ball I got cramped and found myself hiding in the ring at short third but just grateful that we got the job done.

The first ball I bowled I cramped up and I thought I’m not going to be able to bowl this fast today but I think the plans I’ve had this tournament and the wrong’un coming into play here has helped me have a lot of success as well as the other spin group of our team have been outstanding in the bowling partnership. Bowling’s what first got me in the White Ferns and it’s something that I’ve always wanted to keep getting better at.

I think I’ve said it all along throughout the last year, it’s the spin group we have – I’ve never enjoyed bowling so much, they make it so much fun and I’m just enjoying myself when I’m out there. It’s always better when you get the big players out.

You want to be a big match player. Bowling through those middle overs, it’s when the best batters are constructing their innings and if you can make a breakthrough it can push teams back and that’s my job. Wickets come and go and thankfully they’ve come my way this tournament.

(on playing with the three seniors and the youngsters together) I absolutely love it. I’ve played international cricket now for a while so I’ve got to share the field and experience playing with three of our greats but then to be a similar age to our young ones, it feels like you can build great connections with them all and that’s what our team has. They’re such special people and I absolutely love playing for the White Ferns and they mean so much to me.

October 20 will go down as one of New Zealand cricket’s unforgettable dates. Their women’s team delivered the country’s maiden victory in the T20I World Cup in Dubai, hours after the men’s team recorded a Test win in India after a wait of 36 years.

As a nation of four million clocked in to work on Monday morning, Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates – “grandmas of the team” as Bates laughed in jest – had just about finished theirs, getting their hands on the Women’s T20 World Cup trophy, the cup that had agonizingly got away from them 14 years ago at Kensington Oval.

It was fitting that the two legends, who have carried the country’s cricket ecosystem for so long, through issues with depth and limited financial resources, could enjoy the night of their lives in the twilight of their storied careers.

Amelia Kerr, who had hoped to dedicate the win to the golden oldies, couldn’t have stepped up with a more impactful effort – top scoring with 43, while also picking up three wickets, all with a slight limp due to cramps. For added context, New Zealand had come into the tournament on a streak of 10 T20I losses, the longest losing streak any team has turned around to win a cricket World Cup. On this night, all of that didn’t matter though.

The fireworks go off and the rest of the New Zealand players catch up with Bates and Devine who are impossible to separate at the moment. 37 years old and 35 years old respectively, on the last legs of their careers, and this is the moment they’ve been waiting for. “We’re going to win this thing now,” were the prophetic words from Devine after their win against West Indies. And they’ve been by far the superior side today. 10 losses in a row coming into this tournament.

Ten! But none of that matters. There are tears of joy as the players hug each other. Meanwhile, the wait, the agony and the enduring heartbreak continues for South Africa in World Cups. Runners-up in Cape Town last year, finalists in Barbados in the men’s, and runners-up here again. They were led by a great batter in Laura Wolvaardt who can’t stop scoring runs as captain. They had a champion like Marizanne Kapp in the ranks.

Mlaba stepped up at different times, de Klerk and Khaka made their presence felt. But it just wasn’t enough. 159 was just too many on a slow pitch where the ball was stopping, and New Zealand’s bowlers were too good as they have been all tournament. Take a bow, Amelia Kerr – most wickets in a single edition of the tournament. Take a bow, Brooke Halliday – excellent knocks in both semis and final.

And now for the moment Devine was dreaming about last night. She lifts the trophy and the fireworks go off once more. The champagne is flowing, as are the tears and New Zealand get to pose as champions for the first time ever. Now the three grandmas (Tahuhu, Bates and Devine) get together for a separate picture of their own with the trophy. So that wraps a tournament that defied expectations and tore apart all kinds of predictions.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: “Side Arm Specialists In India Need To Work Hard To Prepare Batters For Tough Times”- Abhishek Jain Gives His Invaluable Insights

 


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