It’s pretty much always a must-win game for you in a World Cup when it’s played in your country. You’ve only shot 228 undefeated against one side in the competition, and have beaten you in your last three matches. In defense, you left the opposition at 156 for 2 after 34 overs. They only need 73 more. You have 16 leftovers to cook. You get a break to have a drink and regroup, and one of your teammates asks, “Where else would you prefer?”
If you’re New Zealand, the answer is ‘nowhere else’.
After that, New Zealand succeeded. They took three South African wickets for nine runs and left them 59 out of 59. Then they took two more wickets in two overtime hours, and South Africa were at the forefront to boot them.
It’s a game you’ve been in control of since the moment your strike bowler closed the opposition opener, triggered by the collapse – six wickets for 30 runs – your quicks, and after your top batter recorded a third successive half-century. You are the captain and you have also done your part with a half-century in an 88-course stand that your team should win the match.
But, in a few minutes, all that is released and your tail is left to take it home.
Win, and you’ll be criticized for almost losing it. Loser, and there will be the c-word again.
They knew they were not at their best. They knew they had to finish it sooner. But what they knew and what was were two different things and that is sometimes how the sport works.
“You want your experienced players to take it to the end. It’s something you’re addressing after this game to see how we can improve it,” Luus said. “But I don’t think people out there understand the pressure that comes with playing a World Cup in situations like this.”
How could we?
Most of us have been trapped in our homes for the last two years, some of us can not even imagine driving to the next city, no matter half of the world only to be in a hotel room most of our time to remain, as was the case for athletes.
Even though this ladies’ world cup was not played in a strict biobubble, the weeks until then, as Luus explained, were busy for most teams. They have been away from home comfort in the familiar faces of family and friends for months, but they have done so because, apart from their job, the opportunities for women’s sports to show themselves on the biggest stage do not come around so often. They did it because they want to compete against the best, and as close as they can to winning a World Cup.
“It just makes it very special when you step over the line and get that win,” Luus said. “It brings the group closer together. It motivates us when we get home, hopefully after the finals, and see our families and then, when you look back, hopefully all the pressure and everything will be worth it.”
For a player it seems like all that and much more.
“Marizanne has nerves of steel,” Luus said. “She takes it better than all of us could. She is the right person for the time of the game. She has a lot of experience. She has played all over the world in all these kinds of situations. She has a very calm head. She shows us just as one stays calm and retrains his own abilities and finishes the game. “
It does not always look that way. Kapp is known for cheering on his teammates in moments of high pressure, for showing their emotions when things get tense, and did not even give the New Zealand Victory Bar a shout and a shout before it fell into his hands . She knew it should never be that hard.
“She has her heart on her arm,” Devine said. “She’s an exceptional athlete. She’s super talented with bat and ball. We saw today, with the ball, she just gives you nothing, and with the bat it just shows her experience. I played next to her. On the [Perth] Scorchers and see firsthand how committed she is to being better and helping her teams win. She raised her hand that evening and finished the work. She’s a great player. “
The head also presents itself a case, to be considered at the moment as the best all-rounder in the game.
You just lost your third game out of the five you played, and with two to go, you made it hard for yourself to reach the knockouts. You are being trained by teams that have not beaten you before in tournaments, teams like West Indies and now South Africa. And all you can do is tip your hat.
“They are a dark horse in the world war. They have one of the most experienced sides around,” Devine said. “We faced that a few years ago. We missed some players and we were not at our best and they treated us well. They fully deserved it. [the results] as they played in this tournament. They show the form that makes them the number 2 in the world. “
As for your own chances, what’s next? “We win, that’s it.”
Easier said than done, perhaps.
You have won four matches in a row and are at the top of the table along with the tournament favorites that you play next. Nevertheless, there is criticism about how close your team is to all the matches and worries about whether you will be a match for Australia.
You admit that you were not at your best, but you claim that you are ready for anything. “We are at a World Cup and I do not think all players will come easily. I think it will be harder to come with Australia, West Indies,” said Luus. “We are ready to play hard every game, even if it’s hard every game and takes us to the last.”
Be careful what you do.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa correspondent
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