Laureus World Sports Awards overlook Australian women’s generational dominance

The Australian women’s cricket team have been overlooked in what can only be described as a truly farcical oversight.

The Australian women’s cricket team is unquestionably one of the most dominant teams in the history of sport.

Not just cricket, but in any sport, across both men and women, anywhere in the world.

Last night’s clinical T20 World Cup final win over South Africa marked Australia’s sixth victory from eight tournaments, and their seventh consecutive final appearance.

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Including the 50-over World Cup, it is Australia’s ninth title from 14 tournaments since the turn of the century, and of the five tournaments they didn’t win, they were runners-up twice and reached the semifinals in the rest.

News Corp’s Lachlan McKirdy writes that the Australians have won 113 from 134 completed World Cup games since 2000, producing a win record over 84 per cent.

It’s been almost a full decade since Meg Lanning’s troops last lost a Test, and you have to look back to 2021 to find the last time they lost an ODI or a T20 international.

Australia are currently on a 15-game winning streak in ODI cricket, and an undefeated streak in T20 internationals of a scarcely believable 28 games.

To put these numbers in context, 20 games was the length of the streak for the legendary treble-winning Manchester United side of the late 1990s.

On top of the world. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

The three-peat Brisbane Lions were unbeaten in 75 per cent of their games through 2001-2004, while the legendary Hawthorn side of 2012-2015 were unbeaten in 79 per cent.

Since the Australian women’s cricket team last lost a match in any format, the domineering All Blacks have lost seven Tests.

Despite this faintly ridiculous level of performance, particularly since the appointments of Matthew Mott as coach and Meg Lanning as captain, recognition seems to pass our Australian women by.

The Laureus World Sports Awards recognise some of world sport’s most impactful performers, and since 2000 have included an award for the Team of the Year.

The 2023 nominees have been released, with the World Cup-winning Argentinian men’s football team, alongside England’s Lionesses and Red Bull Racing, but notably there has been no mention of our champions in green and gold.

Seriously? (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Not once have the Australian women’s cricket team ever been nominated, despite an unbeaten rate of 79 per cent across 424 fixtures since the inception of the Awards.

Cricket teams do occasionally get nominations, with the Australian men winning it in 2002 after a year where they extended their record Test winning streak to 16 and winning a home Ashes series.

The Australian men were nominated again in 2004 and 2008, while the English men were the last cricketers to be nominated in 2012.

It is a glaring oversight for one of the most prestigious awards in world sport, and it has not gone unnoticed since the victory in South Africa.

ABC Grandstand’s Jim Maxwell said on Twitter that they should win the award, while sports writer Rory Sackville asked whether “someone could tell Laureus about (the Australian women)”.

Our Australian women’s cricketers serve as an inspiration to boys and girls everywhere, and perhaps after yet another clinical victory, they may get the recognition for it.