DUBAI: New Zealand is still one of the few places on earth with more sheep than humans. Earlier this year, there was even a report from New Zealand's general manager of economic and environment insights stating something unusual. Since the beginning of the national population records in the 1950s, for the first time, the ratio of sheep to people has dropped below five to one for the first time in Aotearoa. Farmers turning to forestry and the fall in the price of wool were some of the reasons for the ratio of sheep to people falling below five to one.
However, a look at the result of the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates will tell you, what New Zealand have lost in sheep, they have earned in GOATs (Greatest Of All Time).
Let us go back to the time when the sheep-to-people ratio was close to eight back in 2009. New Zealand were not really a force to be reckoned with. In fact, for the longest time, England and Australia were taking turns to have their hands on World Cup trophies. The sport was dominated by those two teams in such a way that despite the White Ferns being the runners-up of the ODI World Cup that was played in March 2009, they were not considered favourites to win the trophy.
When the inaugural women's T20 World Cup followed in June, they opted to stay with two of the youngsters in the squad. A 22-year-old Suzie Bates and 20-year-old Sophie Devine. Bates was their second-highest run-scorer of the 50-over tournament behind Haidee Tiffen, who retired after the ODI WC, and they saw a potential in Devine.
Come T20 World Cup in England, Bates was again the second-highest run-scorer for the team, this time behind newly appointed captain Aimee Watkins. And they faced a familiar foe in the final — England. Katherine Brunt, Nicky Shaw and Jenny Gunn ran through the New Zealand side bowling first.
The 'Black-eyed Brunt' was exceptional and did not give New Zealand any chance to make a comeback in the game. New Zealand coach Gary Stead was stunned. "They've won two World Cups and today felt a little bit like the amateurs playing the professionals," Stead said at the time. "It's the first time we've been knocked over and overall they are setting the standards at the moment and it's something we need to get better at."
Better they got and fast. In the very next year, New Zealand breezed through the group stage of the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean. Bates was again the second highest-run scorer for her team followed by Devine with third most runs. Come final, there was one assurance for them, England was nowhere near the trophy as Charlotte Edwards' team had crashed out of the tournament in the group stage itself. This time, it was Australia. The hurt Australia who could not win the ODI World Cup at home and could not even make it to the final of the maiden T20 World Cup.
If New Zealand had promising young players like Bates and Devine, Australia, too, had Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy. In that final, it was Devine's turn to take matters into her own hands. With the ball, she took key wickets of Leah Poulton, Australia's highest run-scorer of the tournament and Lisa Sthalekar.
In what later proved to be the low-scoring thriller, it was Devine who took over the batting role as well. With everyone collapsing around her, Devine stood there like a rock. Neither Perry nor Sthalekar could shake her. With 29 runs required off the last two overs, she went berserk against Rene Farrel to smash a four and a six. For the final over, the battle was between youngsters. Perry vs Devine.
Devine ran her heart out to run at least two runs on every ball she faced. Four back-to-back two runs later the equation was simple. Hit a six off the last ball and win it for New Zealand or hit a four off it and take it to super-over. Two 20-year-olds with the weight of expectations on their shoulders. This was the closest New Zealand had ever come to the World Cup Trophy since going all the way in 2000.
Perry darted one and Devine drove it straight down the ground. On any other day, it would have been a boundary but it wasn't meant to be. Perry's boot came in. Sthalekar collected the rebound and Australia were the champions of the world.
Devine was heartbroken. Inconsolable at that. She and her team kept on being heartbroken in every passing tournament since. Under Bates and Devine's captaincy New Zealand never came this close to winning the title once and for all. They had to wait 14 more years just to make it to the final.
This time around in the UAE, a lot of water had flown under the bridge. From those youngsters who came close to winning the title twice in less than a year, Devine and Bates were now the senior-most players in the team. The longevity looked amazing from the outside, but other than that silver lining, the duo had not much to show their impact.
Heading into the tournament, New Zealand was nowhere near anyone's predictions given their losing streak of 10 matches against England and Australia. The times of 2009 and 2010 were back. If it wasn't Heather Knight's side that was haunting them, it was Healy's one.
There was no break. At the moment, when Australia bundled their trans-Tasman rivals for 88 and lost almost all of the net rate advantage they had earned against India in the first match, it looked like a similar story once again. With Devine announcing her retirement from captaincy duties after the event, it felt like the Kiwi duo would go down in history without a trophy.
Then like a lightbulb moment of epic proportions, New Zealand changed it all. This time their young ones took matters into their own hands. Amelia Kerr was at her brilliant best. Eden Carson stole the show with the new ball. Georgia Plimmer took the responsibility to open with Bates. Fran Jonas filled in the gaps when needed. And in the end, they all came together to beat South Africa and win the T20 World Cup for the very first time.
For Kerr, Player of the Final and the tournament, it was a full circle moment.
"For me, I was inspired to be a White Fern watching that 2010 World Cup which Sophie was at and from that moment I was at the nets with my dad pretending I was batting with Sophie and Suzie and being in the team. Playing with my role models who have been so good to me and two of New Zealand's greatest-ever cricketers. I don't necessarily believe you deserve things in sport, but if any two people do, it's Sophie and Suzie. When I was at primary school in creative writing, I wrote about winning a World Cup with Sophie and Suzie. So, to be here now, having done that, I think that's probably why I'm so emotional out on the field at the moment," Kerr said in the post-match press conference.