Australia turn screws on England in T20 World Cup final
Ian Chadband
Australia have a chance to lift the Women’s T20 World Cup for the seventh time after disciplined bowling restricted England to 4-150 in a sold-out exhibition at Lord’s.
But with Australian skipper Sophie Molineux asked to bat first, the home side still continued to believe in their chances after their own skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt battled an unbroken partnership with Freya Kemp to help save them from an unbeaten half-century.
However, whether their 80-run win was quick enough seemed open to great doubt, especially after Australia had managed a record 170-run chase against India at the home of cricket just a week earlier.
Yet the crowd of 30,000 continued to dream as Kemp, who managed to pick up the tempo with an unbeaten 44 off 28 balls, and Sciver-Brunt, who proved to be the mainstay by scoring 58 off 53 balls, kept them in with a shout.
But Molineux will be pleased with a superb effort from their attack, with four bowlers sharing a wicket each, the opener quick, Kim Garth (1-20 for four) and Lucy Hamilton (1-19 for three) perhaps picked out.
Having won the toss, Molineux were hoping their bowlers would put on early pressure. They did just that; Hamilton took her first wicket of the World Cup only in the second over, while Georgia Voll took a good low catch at backward point to get rid of Amy Jones.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge’s key wicket was a bonus when Annabel Sutherland’s delivery was called wide, but wicketkeeper Beth Mooney persuaded Molineux to review as she believed England’s star batsman had put the ball in her gloves. He was right.
The skipper struck a move of her own past Alice Capsey’s reverse sweep attempt just after giving the home side some hope by smashing 15 of the 16 shots given up by Ash Gardner in the first over.
When Garth then trapped former captain Heather Knight lbw with a leg cutter to leave the home team 4-70 behind, England were already looking helpless and needed the steady hand of the captain and the spirited Kemp to give them a fighting chance.
An unchanged Australia were given a huge boost ahead of the final, with 35-year-old all-rounder Ellyse Perry remaining fit after quad injury concerns.
Perry’s chance to claim a seventh T20 title in his ninth final and 10th T20 World Cup appearance was great news for the team as he was in scintillating form and was nominated for the player of the tournament award along with three others after winning three player of the match gongs along the way.
