Australia’s World Cup winners celebrate hard after dominant win in South Africa

Hailed as the most dominant national team in the world, Australia’s World Cup winners took in their victory in a special way.

Singing the team song just before midnight in Cape Town on the pitch they won a third straight T20 World Cup was how Australia celebrated a victory that put them on top of cricket’s high-achievers list.

The day after the night before captain Meg Lanning declared her all-conquering team, which went through the tournament unbeaten to claim a sixth T20 crown, celebrated like they might never win another.

That seems incredibly unlikely given the domination of the Australians who now hold both the T20 and ODI World Cups.

Heck of a bunch ❤️ super proud of what this group has been able to achieve 🏆 mwah x pic.twitter.com/ndHP23OpFy

— Megan Schutt (@megan_schutt) February 27, 2023

But Lanning knows the rest of the world is coming, and having scraped through some games in South Africa, including the semi-final against India, before triumphing over the hosts in the final, she said it was a victory worthy of an epic celebration.

“We stayed at the ground for most of the night to be honest, it was a pretty incredible venue to spend some time at,” Lanning said the day after her team’s win.

“It was just about chatting with each other, going through some moments throughout the tournament, reflecting a lot, and just having some fun.

“You’ve got to try and savour these moments as much as you can.

World champions Australia have returned to the pitch at Newlands

11:10pm SA Time, Cape Town#T20WorldCuppic.twitter.com/ZONGR9xZvY

— Annesha Ghosh (@ghosh_annesha) February 26, 2023

“I know we’ve been really successful over the past 10 years, but you never know when your next World Cup final might be. You might never get another chance.

“For the group to be able to win another World Cup, they‘re never easy to win and there’s always ups and downs and challenges along the way, and the way we’ve been able to get through those tough moments and when we’ve been under the pump, we’ve stuck together as a team and really had each other’s back. That’s one of the things I’m most proud of.”

Four members of the World Cup-winning group – Alyssa Healy, Ashleigh Gardner, Darcie Brown and Megan Schutt – were all named in the team of the tournament, with Gardner having already been named player of the tournament.

Lanning said she and the players knew that their incredible success had put a “target on our backs”, which made winning extra special.

“To be able to keep wining when we know we have targets on our back essentially … teams are coming pretty hard at us, and we’re always the ones under the pump,” she said.

“So to keep wining and keep taking some punches along the way I think is a really great achievement.”

Proud of this team and all we have been able to achieve 💚💛 @AusWomenCricketpic.twitter.com/n4KdgjDuwk

— Jessica Jonassen (@JJonassen21) February 27, 2023

Lanning is one of 14 Australians, including 13 from the World Cup-winning squad, now heading straight to India for the historic Women’s Premier League having been bought by the Delhi Capitals for $191,000.

Beth Mooney, the player of the match in the World Cup final, has been announced as captain of the Gujurat Giants, joining Alyssa Healy, who will captain UP Warriorz, as a skipper in the inaugural season.

Despite extending their road trip close to two months straight after the World Cup, Lanning said everyone involved was excited for what’s to come in India.

“It’s super exciting,” she said.

“Everyone is really pumped to be involved, it’s a massive step for the women’s game and it’s only just the beginning.”

Originally published as Australia’s World Cup winners celebrate hard after dominant win in South Africa