Schutt credits team’s fitness preparation as part of their combination to success
Media release
Australia are adding a fourth discipline to succeed in cricket - batting, bowling, fielding, and fitness.
The reigning ICC Women’s T20 World Cup champions have long prioritised being fitter than any other team and in the 2024 edition, it is paying off.
As temperatures remained high in Sharjah, Megan Schutt showed she was the one bringing the heat as she took three for three in 3.2 overs to help dismiss New Zealand for 88.
Australia’s preparations for their title defence have included using saunas, which allowed them to stay strong as the White Ferns slipped to a 60-run loss.
“We had a pretty strong emphasis on fitness coming into this World Cup,” Schutt said. “And as much as we hated our S&C (strength and conditioning) at the time, it has paid off.
“I think when we are playing in a tournament like this, when the heat is so extreme it is really going to come into play.
“I feel like I have lost a few litres but I am feeling good, that was a pretty crucial match for us.
“New Zealand played very well against India so to come out and win like that is pretty cool.”
Australia posted 148 for nine having chosen to bat with Beth Mooney again top scoring with 40 and Ellyse Perry making 30 as the pair put on 45 runs together.
The bowling innings was near-perfect and began with Schutt bowling Georgia Plimmer for seven to become the most successful bowler at Women’s T20 World Cups, eventually moving to 46 wickets.
Her superior performance secured her back-to-back Player of the Match awards, having also taken three in Australia’s opening win over Sri Lanka.
She added: “I’m pretty low maintenance, I know I didn’t change much.
“I think as long as we did the simple things, and that is what we spoke about coming into here on the low and slow wickets, as long as we keep the stumps in play, that would be pretty crucial.
“We knew if we started well in the powerplay we could really peg them back in the middle and that is what we did.”
While Australia excelled in all facets of the game, New Zealand captain Sophie Devine believes errors across the match contributed to their heavy defeat.
It meant they were unable to back up their impressive win over India and must now regroup before taking on Sri Lanka on Saturday.
Devine said: “We needed to have a good start in the chase, and we let the run-rate creep up too much.
“We got ourselves into a bit of a hole. When we were bowling, we strayed a little too far from the stumps and that's where we had been good against India.
“In the field we were a little sloppy. With the bat, we needed to play some more courageous shots.
“We've still got two games to go. We don't want to get too carried away with net run-rate, Sri Lanka is our next big game."
ENDS