The Australian women reclaimed the ICC World Cup by beating the West Indies in the 2013 edition at the Brabourne Stadium. The Southern Stars have had a momentous season leading up to the victory here. After winning the Ashes, they won the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in 2012 and followed it up by winning the 50-over World Cup for the sixth time.
The Jodie Fields-led side was outstanding throughout the tournament and lost only one match ahead of the final. Speaking to media after sailing to a massive 114-run triumph over the West Indies, she credited her team for their efforts.
Fields told the media, “In my mind, we hadn't won it till we got the 10th wicket. Up until that moment anything can happen in a game. Deandra [Dottin] came out and she showed some intent and played some really good shots and so did Merissa Aguilleira, their captain. So you can never ever stop trying till you get that 10th wicket, and I think we did that today.”
“We were disappointed with our performance in the last Super Six match against West Indies. We really wanted to dominate and go through the tournament undefeated. But to their [WI] credit they played well,” she added.
On having to choose between Ellyse Perry who was fit after missing out on three games and Holly Ferling, the captain said, “That was a really tough call. I knew all 15 players could win the game for us. To leave out Holly was tough, [but] Ellyse to her credit came through today. I must admit that my heart sank a bit, but Ellyse did well and that is why she is a top-level player.”
While discussing the bowling further, Fields said, “Julie Hunter and Megan Schutt have done a great job for us while opening the bowling for us. They have been bowling well in partnership and we knew that having Ellyse as a first-change bowler would be a good thing, and alongside [having] Lisa Sthalekar who didn't concede too many runs, that helped us a lot.”
Talking about the swashbuckling West Indies cricketer Deandra Dottin, she said, “Deandra Dottin has had an amazing tournament. She is a power player and we knew we had to bowl well to her. We knew she would hit a few big shots like she did. But we knew at some point she would make an error and it did come. So, credit to the whole bowling unit for not only getting her wicket but all the other wickets as well.”
While speaking about her match-winning innings and whether she felt pressure, Jess Cameron said, "I don't think so, I knew with the batting style I have, that it would come off. I knew that I had to work hard today to make sure to get my team to a significant score, and that I did. I didn't feel any pressure and that's what helped me."
Unhappy with her dismissal, Cameron said, "I guess the disappointing thing about my batting was I missed out on a full-toss and picked the lone fielder in the outfield. But at the same time I knew we had a long batting line-up. As much as I am disappointed, I knew someone would step up."
Looking back at the journey from the 2009 World Cup to this one, Fields said, “I was a part of the 2009 campaign in Sydney. It was disappointing because it was a home tournament and we performed poorly. Over the last four years there has been an effort not only from the players but the coaching staff and everyone involved in Cricket Australia to make sure when we turned up at this World Cup we were in the best possible shape. To everyone’s credit we have done that and proved why we are the No.1 team in the world.”
“Looking back on that 2012 tour to India, it was great preparation coming here. We won that series, and also playing in Sri Lanka at the World T20 prepared us for these conditions; also the Rose Bowl series more recently against New Zealand in December. So the preparation that Cricket Australia has let us have has really helped us in this tournament,” she mentioned.
“I think the standard of competition at this World Cup has been amazing. Just to see teams like Sri Lanka, South Africa, Pakistan improve [was great]. Sri Lanka's win over England, they took a lot of positives out of that. From a playing perspective, we would like to get to a professional level, but we have been supported well by Cricket Australia and that continues to improve. The crowd has been great,” Fields said about the tournament.
