Sunday was just another example of how competitive it is out here. South Africa deserved the win, they were clinical with the bat and unforgiving with the ball. The format of T20 can shift so quickly and if you are not on form or aren’t producing your best then results can slide. I’m sure there’ll be plenty more surprises along the way but hopefully next time we’ll be on the right side of the result.
In some ways, it makes everything very simple. We now (probably) have to win every game from here on in to be in the final. It's a really challenging prospect but we have the talent in our team to deliver.
We are a batting line-up and we didn’t get the runs on the board that we needed to get. We started well and felt we set the tone brilliantly but we lost wickets in quick succession in the powerplay and that really shifted things. We finished well but it wasn’t enough. The WACA is a notoriously quick wicket where you can score runs quickly but it was playing pretty slowly. There are things to try, maybe a couple of aspects of the game to improve and hopefully we will come out of Canberra with the result we need.
It seems like every tournament we play in is another step up in terms of fans, atmosphere and potential for the women's game. Even the opening game - 16-year-old opener Shafali Verma smashed her way to 40 without loss after four overs and that can only be a positive message to girls all around the world. Playing in some of the stadiums in Australia, they truly are incredible, so well equipped for the game and the noise coming from spectators in the stands is simply amazing.
There is talk that the final game of this T20 is aiming to beat the world record attendance and with the final being played at the iconic 100,024-seater MCG there’s a good chance it might happen. The Aussies are really pushing the audiences to #FillTheMCG and I would absolutely love to be a part of it. We’re a long way away from that at the moment and there’s a job to do but whether we’re there or not, it's an amazing thing to be happening in the sport.
Wish us luck!
Tammy Beaumont is a brand ambassador for JM Finn.
