Melbourne [Australia], November 25 (AI): The Australian women's team has achieved the highest Benchmark Emotional Connection Score for any national team, Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed on Wednesday.

According to research released by True North Research, the Australian men's T20I and Test teams were ranked number two and three respectively, showcasing the Australian public's connection to cricket's national teams.

"This is fantastic recognition for both our men's and women's teams in what has been such a challenging period for international sport. The women's team have continued the momentum from the record-breaking ICC T20 World Cup, taking on New Zealand in September in the first international sporting match in the country since the pandemic hit," Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia's Interim CEO said in an official release.

"It is an absolute credit to coach Matthew Mott and skipper Meg Lanning who go above and beyond to connect with our fans and the wider Australian public. We are also witnessing one of the most successful Australian sporting teams of the modern era, with the ODI team producing the equal longest winning streak in the game's history alongside Ricky Ponting's 2003 ODI team," he added.

Hockley also acknowledged the role of coaching staff of men's side for making the national side a force to be reckoned with.

"It is also really important to acknowledge and congratulate the outstanding work from Justin Langer, Tim Paine and Aaron Finch and our national men's team who have worked so hard at making Australian's proud across the last 18 months," said Hockley.

"It has been more than 12 months since the Australian public has seen our men in play on home soil, so we are all so excited to see Aaron and the team take on India in the first ODI on Friday night," he added. (ANI)