“We all want to wear jewellery.”
“We are coming in as favourites, but we come in hoping to win every single game that we play and have been favorites for a lot of tournaments now, so we are used to it,” Schutt said. “It’s a tag we’re humbled by. We’re favorites but we thrive on that.”
They also manage to avenge missed opportunities. Cricket’s re-introduction to the sport is the 10th major limited-overs tournament for Australia since 2010, and they have won seven of the last nine, a run that includes five T20 World Cup crowns.
“Obviously there have been two tournaments in the past that have troubled us, and something that reinvigorated our team is the 2017 loss,” Schutt said. “We talk about it a lot, it’s been a new era for us.
“Loss drives you forward and for us we want to win every single game that we play, we want to win every major championship. It is about getting better and developing as a team and each new tournament is a new one. brings a challenge.”
That challenge on Saturday is New Zealand, who were level after losing to England in Thursday night’s final pool game.
New Zealand scored just 71 runs in their 20 overs, a target England chased down within 12 overs, with star duo Suzy Bates and captain Sophie Devine both failing with the bat.
“He was like a non-New Zealander,” Schutt said of the massive defeat. “They never come twice like that and T20 cricket is where any team can win, so we are definitely not taking them lightly,” he added.
Saturday’s semi-final – which will be played on a traditional turf pitch at Edgbaston after hybrid surfaces were used during the preliminary round – is scheduled to begin at 1800 local time (Sunday 0300 AEST).
