Members of the New Zealand White Ferns cricket team which beat South Africa by 32 runs in the final of the women's Twenty20 World Cup in Dubai on Sunday will split prize money of around USD 2.3 million. (More Cricket News|Highlights)
That works out at around USD 155,000 or NZD 256,000 per team member, a life-changing windfall 🍃for players who for years have struggled for years to ac🦄hieve financial parity with their male counterparts.
New Zealand's first-eve🌸r victory in the World Cup of cricket's shortest ♔format was a massive surprise.
The White Ferns had lost 10 ꩵconsecutive T20 matches before beating South Africa in a warm-up match.
That pre-tournament success proved a turning point for New Zealand who beat India, Sri Lanka and 𓃲P𓆏akistan, losing only to Australia on the way to the semifinals.
New Zealand made 158-5, ba𒊎tting first in the final, helped by Suzy Bates who made 32, Amelia Kerr who made 43 and Brooke Halliday who made 38.
Kerr then took 3-24 and Ro♔semary Mair 3-25 as New Zealand restricted South Africa to 12⛄6-9.
"Pretty unbelievable to be honest,” Mair said. “Coming into the tournament all the odds were against us so for the group to bounce back like they have is unbelieva꧋ble.
"We just care so much about each other. We've been through a lot of lows in th💮e last 18 months, and we've just stuck by each other and kept working hard for 🔯each other."
Captain Sop🦋hie ✨Devine was leading the New Zealand team for the last time. She and Bates have played in all nine T20 World Cups since the first in 2009.
💧New 🐟Zealand reached the final of the first two tournaments in 2009 and 2010, losing to Australia on both occasions.
"This means everything to us," Bates said. "When you play team sport, you ﷽want to be a world chamওpion.
"We've fought our way back to the top. (Devie) has been so ou𝕴tstanding꧃ leading this team... so calm and believing in us. We'll probably have a cuddle for even longer later because there's been some dark times that only the people in the (locker room) understand."
The White Ferns' success was praised Monday by New Zealand Sports Min👍ister ⭕Chris Bishop.
It came at the end of a weekend in which New Zealand also retained sailing's America's Cup and in which the New Zealand men's cricket team beat India in a test in India for the first 💙time in 36ꦬ years.
"And then to round out a truly amazing sporting weekend, at 3am Monday morning (NZT) the White Ferns, led by Sophie Devine, stepped up to face South Africa in the women's T20 World Cup final in Dubai and a♑bsolutely smashed it, bringing home their𝔍 first World Cup since the One Day International in 2000," Bishop said.
"Amelia Kerr's 43 runs off 38🀅 balls and then taking 3 wickets for 24 set our team up for theiಞr magnificent performance."
