Cricket - Women's Cricket T20 World Cup - Australia v South Africa - Dubai International Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates - October 17, 2024 Australia's Tahlia McGrath in action REUTERS/Amr Alfiky
(Reuters) - Disappointed Australia skipper Tahlia McGrath said the defending champions were a little bit off the mark and had the misfortune to come up against a South Africa side on top of their game in the Women's Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals.
Six-times champions Australia will miss out on the final for only the second time in nine editions of the tournament after South Africa romped to an eight-wicket victory in Dubai on Thursday.
"They played really well tonight, in tournament play you can't afford to be off the mark at all, we were off the mark tonight and they were spot on," McGrath, who was standing in as captain for the injured Alyssa Healy, told a news conference.
"It's disappointing, it's hard to take, but we'll get around each other, we'll regroup and there's still plenty of cricket on the calendar."
After losing the toss, Australia made 134 for five in their 20 overs, only for South Africa, spearheaded by a sparkling 74 not out from Anneke Bosch, to rattle off 135-2 in just over 17 overs.
"We were a few short with the bat but we still thought if we bowled well that was a competitive total," McGrath added.
"But they made it look like a pretty good wicket when they batted and we were just slightly off with our plans."
South Africa go on to face the winner of the Friday's second semi-final between West Indies and New Zealand in the title decider on Sunday.
McGrath said there were still plenty of positives to take from the tournament for Australia, who are in transition after the retirement of some of the players who helped them become the dominant force in the women's game.
"We have had a lot of change, we've some players step up and play some new roles," she said.
"We had so many contributors, there was barely a game where someone dominated, every game different people would stand up with bat and ball."
"Everyone did their role, everyone did what was needed for the team. So many positives with some of the youngsters, some people playing out of position."
"It was just unfortunate in the semi-final that we were just a little bit off."
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, editing by Rashmi Aich)
