London, June 8 (IANS) Australia may enter the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup without the task of reclaiming a title, but captain Sophie Molineux believes the scars of recent World Cup disappointments could become the team’s greatest source of motivation.

After dominating global women’s cricket for much of the past decade, Australia arrive in England seeking to reclaim the T20 crown they surrendered following a shock semi-final exit in the 2024 tournament. That setback, coupled with last year’s ODI World Cup disappointment in India, has prompted a period of reflection within the squad ahead of another bid for global glory.

Molineux said the shift from being reigning champions to challengers could work in Australia’s favour. “I think it can free us up, if we harness that. I think the last couple of World Cups we’ve learned a whole lot and been able to implement a few things, and I feel like we’ve really evolved as a team in the last few months and even before that,” the Australian skipper said of losing the ‘defending champions’ label while speaking to reporters on Captains’ Day.

Australia have occupied the No.1 position in the ICC Women’s T20I rankings since 2018 and remain among the favourites despite no longer carrying the status of title holders. Molineux believes recent setbacks have offered lessons that years of success could not.

“I’m really excited, and I think the girls are really hungry to get out there and be able to put that in place. I don’t think there’s any better arena to be able to do it than at a World Cup with the big moments that are going to come in the next few weeks. If you look back over the last 10 years, we’ve been really successful, but I do think we probably have got more learnings out of the last two World Cups than what we had in the seven or eight before that,” she added.

Australia’s path to the semi-finals, however, is unlikely to be straightforward. Drawn in a formidable Group A, they will face South Africa and India alongside Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands in a pool many observers have labelled the tournament’s toughest.

South Africa arrive as runners-up from multiple recent ICC events, while India enter the competition with renewed confidence after securing their maiden major women’s title last year. With only two teams progressing to the knockout stage, every match could prove decisive.

“It’s going to take consistency across all five games. If you do slip up, you have to be able to bounce back really quickly,” Molineux stated.

Australia’s campaign begins at Old Trafford on June 13 against South Africa in a highly anticipated rematch of the 2024 semi-final, where the Proteas ended Australia’s hopes of retaining the trophy.

The encounter will mark the first official T20 international between the two sides since that upset in Dubai, although they recently crossed paths during a series of unofficial warm-up fixtures in Arundel.

Rather than easing into the tournament, Molineux welcomed the opportunity to face one of the world’s strongest sides immediately.

“I think that’s probably the best way to get into a tournament like this, to play a class outfit in South Africa. They’ve got an enormous amount of depth now and we’re really looking forward to getting out there and hopefully starting the tournament on a really positive note,” she said.

–IANS

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