Don’t Stop Believing

By Harbour Heather

The White Ferns are T20 World Cup champions.

Who saw that coming?

Judging by Georgia Plimmer’s passionate post-match performance of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing, the White Ferns group sure did.

If you follow cricket, you’d might have not have seen that performance coming, but you’d for sure have heard the noise. Heck, you might have even been part of it. The team faced criticism for their performance leading into the tournament, not entirely unjustified. They had lost 16 of their last 19 T20 matches, including 10 in a row ahead of the World Cup.

But sitting here 12 or so hours on from the history-making performance, it’s easier (and much more fun) to pull back and look at the context of the bigger picture. Those recent losses this calendar year have been against the top two sides in the world in Australia and England, a pretty hard yardstick. On the one hand, you could argue that’s precisely what you want – to be measuring yourselves against the best. On the other hand, it could skew perception of how you’re really travelling.

Sophie Devine is a pretty straight shooter. She knew some of their performances weren’t where they wanted to be, but she didn’t lose the faith that they were heading in the right direction.

The White Ferns started their tournament with a confidence-boosting win over India and then stumbled against their familiar nemesis Australia, which brought back critique that they had reverted to type. But from there, momentum snowballed. Pool of Death conquered, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan all cast aside, and the extra boost of heading into their semifinal against the West Indies with the knowledge that it wasn’t the Aussies waiting for them.

We must give thanks to the South Africans for that, because a final against the always-impressive Australians would’ve posed a significant challenge on the field, with a side of psychological baggage to boost. Not having to carry that monkey on the back no doubt allowed the team to breathe more freely, play more freely, and most of all, believe.

This morning, we saw a team thriving off the confidence built through the tournament, knowing that their performances had been spread across young emerging stars as well as more seasoned campaigners. They capped off an impressive run by setting the highest-ever total in a Women’s T20 World Cup final, and despite a positive start from South Africa, the White Ferns turned it on as a team across the park and made history.

There’s also the sentiment of the (self-appointed) grandmas – Suzie Bates, Lea Tahuhu and outgoing T20 captain Sophie Devine. You don’t have a heart if you didn’t feel something, watching them unable to control their smiles as the final few balls were bowled. They have seen over 400 T20 games between them, are all aged over 34, and each has battled through something in that time, be it injuries or contract issues. As the wickets fell and the balls ticked down, the realisation crept in, not only for them, but for Kiwi cricket fans – those grandmas have seen some things, and have been an integral part of the global evolution of the women’s game.

In 2000, a generation of young girls was inspired by the world champion White Ferns. Some of them are in this current team. Others in this side were inspired by Bates, Devine and Tahuhu themselves, and have now become world champions alongside them. In the intervening years between ICC titles, women’s sport overall has come so far in terms of contracts, equity, attendance, sponsorship and awareness. All that bodes even better for the future of the White Ferns and Black Caps.

Former White Fern Katey Martin, who did well to contain her excitement and parochialism in commentary, mentioned how the team “have done it their way”. From the joyful giggles of Eden Carson as she comprehended she was living her dream, to the post-match waiata, this team never lost their mojo, stayed true to their culture and ensured the vibes remained high.

So, while many of us may be eating our words today, we’re also rejoicing (and suddenly loving T20 cricket…). Our White Ferns have done us proud, but more than that, they’ve proved themselves right, and that must taste sweeter than any celebratory champagne.

Congratulations, White Ferns, you World Champions. Hold on to that feeling.

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