Australia’s remarkable World Cup reign is officially over.

One of the most dominant eras in modern sport has drawn to a close, with Australia failing to qualify for a Women’s T20 World Cup final for the first time in 15 years.

Captain Alyssa Healy watched helplessly from the sidelines as South Africa cruised towards a dominant eight-wicket victory over the reigning champions in Dubai, chasing the modest 135-run target with 16 balls to spare.

Proteas batter Anneke Bosch cracked a career-best 74* (48) during the one-sided contest, combining with captain Laura Wolvaardt for a 96-run partnership for the second wicket.

Before the start of this year, South Africa had never defeated Australia in a women’s T20I, a drought that was broken in Canberra in January. The Proteas, having secured revenge after last year’s T20 World Cup final on home soil, will face either New Zealand or the West Indies in this weekend’s decider.

Watch every game of the WBBL live and ad-break free during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer >

“We were slightly off with our plans, slightly off all around,” Australian stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath admitted during the post-match press conference.

“In tournament play, you can’t afford to be off the mark at all. We were a little bit off while they were spot on.

“It’s disappointing, it’s hard to take.

“We just didn’t really show up tonight.”

Australia, chasing an unprecedented fourth-consecutive title, had won 15 straight T20 World Cup matches before Thursday’s defeat, dating back to before the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, setting T20 targets has been Australia’s kryptonite since the start of last year’s Ashes campaign in England, with the powerhouse team losing five of their 11 matches when batting first during that period. Time and time again, the team’s cautious approach with the bat has proven their downfall, and Thursday’s loss to South Africa was no exception.

After being sent in, the defending champions only mustered 86 runs from the first 15 overs, the team’s lowest tally in over eight years. Coach Shelley Nitschke later confessed 160 was a par total on the Dubai wicket, a margin the Australians never looked like reaching.

Skipper McGrath struggled to find the boundary rope, crawling towards 27 (33) after the Australians lost two early wickets during the Powerplay. The South Australian’s spot in the national T20 side will come under question after an underwhelming 12 months in the game’s shortest format, striking at just 98.81 with no fifties in 17 matches this year.

“We just didn’t play well enough tonight,” Nitschke said.

“A lot of the girls are really disappointed at the moment … it’s going to hurt for a while.”

Elsewhere, Australia gambled on throwing leg-spinner Georgia Wareham up the order, sending the bowling all-rounder out at first drop throughout the tournament.

However, the promotion backfired dramatically, with Wareham recording scores of 3, 4, 0 and 5 in the United Arab Emirates. Replacing someone like Meg Lanning is impossible, but Australia sorely missed the former captain’s experience and exposure over the past fortnight.

Australia’s depth of all-rounders remains the envy of the cricket world, but the team’s most dynamic young batters went unused against the Proteas on Thursday. Ash Gardner didn’t bat, neither did Annabel Sutherland, who smacked a record-breaking double-century against South Africa earlier this year.

Healy’s injury undeniably derailed Australia’s campaign, but this week’s semi-final exit will spark debate on the team’s strongest starting XI moving forward.

Sutherland, Gardner and Phoebe Litchfield should be in Australia’s top six, while quick Darcie Brown may have fallen out of favour with national selectors after a forgettable campaign that included three wicketless matches and multiple dropped chances.

Australia’s bowlers also missed the mark during the run chase, overpitching wide of the stumps as Bosch punished the spin trio of Wareham, Gardner and Sophie Molineux.

“One bad night doesn’t necessarily define us as a team,” Healy declared after the match.

Australia, India and England were touted as the tournament favourites ahead of the T20 World Cup, but neither of them will feature in this weekend’s final.

Over the past 18 months, pundits have questioned whether the gap between ‘the big three’ and the other full member nations was starting to close, but this tournament has proven it has well and truly shut.

And the sport is better off for it.

“The prospect of potentially a new winner for this tournament is hugely exciting,” Healy continued.

“The investment and the opportunities there are to play cricket around the world in different conditions and at all times of the year has done great things for the world game. We’re seeing teams really benefit from that, which is awesome.

“If it turns out to be a New Zealand vs South Africa (final), it’s going to be really cool to see a fresh winner of that trophy and show how far the women’s game has come.”