Grace Harris only needed one line to sum up Australia’s celebrations after clinching the first Commonwealth Games T20 gold medal at Edgbaston.
“I’ve been horizontal, may not have been asleep,” Harris quipped from Birmingham moments before crossing live into Channel 7 studios in Australia on Tuesday morning.
On the field, in the dugout, on the bus and out on the town in Birmingham, it was scenes of pure elation for the Australians as soon as Jess Jonassen claimed India’s last remaining wicket to secure the gold.
First order of call for the Australians was to rush into the team room to don their decorative ‘podium jackets’ before walking out alongside silver medalists India, and bronze medalists New Zealand.
Speaking minutes after the ceremony, Alana King said it was unlike anything she’s experienced before in cricket.
“It’s not just cricket, it’s Team Australia,” she said.
Celebrations start now 😃@CommGamesAUS #BoldInGold pic.twitter.com/ECCKjAaUdl
— Australian Women’s Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) August 7, 2022
“It’s pretty special standing on a podium, we’ve never done something like that ever.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Jonassen, who took two wickets in a thrilling final over to deny India the 11 runs they needed for victory.
“We’ll never get the opportunity to win the first ever women’s cricket gold medal for Australia ever again,” she said.
“To be a part of history and a part of a bigger team is super special, I’m so proud to have been a part of it.”
With gold medals around their necks and Australian flags draped around their shoulders, the Australians team took their time mingling with friends, family and fans in the stands.
Rachael Haynes was quick to spot her son Hugo in the crowd, Darcie Brown’s family made the trip from Adelaide, the Lannings and Harris’ were also at Edgbaston and Alyssa Healy was able to celebrate with her mum, husband Mitchell Starc and brother-in- law Brandon Starc, who won a silver medal in the men’s high jump at Birmingham.
Another familiar face in the crowd was former longstanding Aussie coach Matthew Mott, who watched the thrilling contest with former player turned commentator Mel Jones.
As the sell-out crowd slowly trickled out of Edgbaston, the Australians made their way into the team room to continue the celebrations.
The music was turned up and the gold medalists turned their attention to the other members of Team Australia going for glory.
A few players tuned into the final few minutes of the Australian Diamonds’ victory against Jamaica and some were glued to an iPad showing Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy in the beach volleyball gold medal match.
All the while, a stack of radio and live television requests were filtering through from back in Australia where fans were waking up to news of the win.
Then, in the team room adorned with posters of the team’s values such as ‘team-first, fearless, evolve’ on the wall, it was time to sing the song.
As the lights went off at Edgbaston, the party continued in the team bus with King leading the charges and taking control of the playlist.
Just as it did in New Zealand after Australia won the ODI World Cup, Freed From Desire got a strong run.
With a couple of hours sleep under her belt after a visit to notorious Aussie pub ‘The Walkabout’, Healy fronted up in excellent form for the live cross with Channel 7 to reflect on the magnitude of what the team had achieved.
“I look back on yesterday, and I just think, how did we do that?” Healy told Hamish McLaughlin.
“How did how do we do that? How did we win? And it’s actually our sports psychologist Pete (Clark) who said to me, ‘I think it’s two things’.
“He said ‘we never ever give up and we never turn on one another when things get down’.
“And I think that’s exactly what makes this team so great.
“You could see it yesterday when the chips were down, we got around one another, we rallied and we managed to find a way to win.
“I think that’s what makes this team so good.
“And it’s so good to be a part of knowing that each and every one of your teammates has got your back even when things aren’t going that great.
“I think that’s probably one of the most remarkable victories I’ve been a part of and one that I can probably watch back at some point and be so proud of this group for.”
2022 Commonwealth Games
Australia’s squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda- Jade Wellington
See all the Commonwealth Games cricket squads here
Group A: Australia, India, Pakistan, Barbados
Group B: England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka
July 29: Australia beat India by three wickets
July 31: Australia beat Barbados by nine wickets
August 3: Australia beat Pakistan by 44 runs
Semi-finals: August 6
India beat England by four runs
Australia beat New Zealand by five wickets
Bronze medal match: New Zealand beat England by eight wickets
gold medal match: Australia v India, August 7, 5pm local (2am Aug 8 AEST)
All matches played at Edgbaston Stadium. Watch live or on demand via 7Plus
