‘Harman said our body language was down. I’ll call bullshit on that,’ remarks Megan Schutt on the Indian captain’s comments

Australia Women continued on their impressive title winning streak as they marked a third straight T20 World Cup win, beating hosts South Africa 19 runs in the final on Sunday in Newlands, Cape Town.While the summit clash may have been decided the defending champions a little earlier, the semifinal against India went right down the wire as Australia emerged victorious 5 runs. In the press conference that followed after the match, the Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur had stated, “It is disappointing. The way we were playing, we did not deserve to lose like this. Australia’s body language felt, they had almost given up. We could have batted more responsibly after coming this close.”

Ayyyyyy the money shot! 🍾#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/7YT9JcS7zq
— Australian Women’s Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) February 26, 2023
Medium pacer Megan Schutt has hit back at the Indian captain’s remarks. “They were cruising and we were under the pump. Collectively our last five overs were crucial. Getting a couple of wickets in there but also providing pressure on all aspects, whether it’s in the field, with the ball or even body language out there. Harman said our body language was down. I’ll call bullshit on that. We’re just calm. We don’t panic, we don’t take it out on each other if there’s a misfield or a dropped catch. That’s where we stand out as a team. We’re a team first and we know getting angry about that isn’t going to do about that. So it was a collective effort,” Schutt said after the final on Sunday.
When asked about what advise she would give to the Indian team, the 30-year-old said, “Stay calm. It was wrong of Harman to follow that after (reaction after being given out). It sets the wrong precedent for those coming after. I know she was calm after that and spoke to Deepti. But the damage was done already then. Being able to compose yourself in that situation. Of course, you’ve to go through lots to figure that out. We’ve had our own losses. Yes, we win a lot, but we’ve had our own clutch moments that we’ve lost and learned from that.”

Schutt, who was Australia’s leading wicket taker in their 2023 T20 World Cup campaign with 10 scalps to her name in six outings, would add that the demeanour of Australia captain Meg Lanning rubs on the rest of the team.

“Meg is a pretty calm character, that’s what rubs on us,” she said. “That’s what we speak in pre-matches. We hold up our calm in pressure moments. Because there are a lot of those, especially in T20s. Being calm in those moments means you’re going to execute better. She presents her calmness. She has been a leader for so long, she knows what people need to succeed – whether it’s individually or as a team, she presents that at the time.”

Playing South Africa in the final, Australia posted 156/6 inside their 20 overs quota with opener Beth Mooney leading the way with 74 off 53 deliveries. In response, South Africa could only score 137/6.
While most had pipped Australia as tournament favorites owing to their recent streak of tournament success, Schutt suggested it still didn’t take the sheen away from their most recent win.

“It’s pretty special,” she says. “People keep taking digs that winning is boring, (but) it’s not boring for us. Every time we come, we come to win. This was another one we had to do in front of a crowd that felt like bloody 70,000 people so damn loud.

“We have to keep pushing our standards. We are really hard on ourselves. We reflect on ourselves quite honestly, but we’re trying to make sure we’re as sure as we can be. We’re working hard in the gym, on the field. We field a lot, and we pride ourselves on that, trying to save the runs. That’s where the gap is at the moment. South Africa has the finest bowling attack in the world, they showed that today. The powerplay was brilliant. Fielding is where we are leading the pack at the moment. But that gap is closing for sure.”