Last Updated on 3 minutes ago by Charbel Coorey
Australia have ended their 1,225-day ICC trophy drought in emphatic style, cruising past high-flying England to win their 7th Women’s T20 World Cup title. The seven-wicket win was reflective of their tournament, barely missing a beat as they won each match in convincing fashion to make up for lost time.
Batting first, England got off to a shaky start and were not able to get going until late in their innings. Freya Kemp’s 44* off 28 balls gave the hosts some momentum at the backend, and on a pitch offering some up and down bounce, England would have been quietly confident of running Australia close with a total of 150/4.
However, it was nowhere near enough. Georgia Voll’s early dismissal was the only blip in Australia’s run chase. The legend Beth Mooney, and the player who has the potential to become a legend, Phoebe Litchfield, combined for a match-sealing 100-run stand in 11.1 overs to break English hearts. The pair managed to hit 18 boundaries between them, including two sixes off the bat of the impressive Litchfield.
Mooney’s 64 off 49 balls won her the player of the match award. Her 238 runs overall came at an average of 47.60 and strike rate of 142.51, winning her player of the tournament. She scored three fifties in seven innings, including a crucial knock on the biggest stage.
Beth Mooney and Sophie Molineux react after winning the T20 World Cup Final
“This has been on the calendar for a little while for us. It’s just nice to be part of the squad, first and foremost, and then have a role to play in batting and keeping. Just pumped to be here,” Mooney said in the post-match presentation.
“There’s been a lot of evolution in this group in the last 12 months, and a lot of growth, and some fun times as well. So, really nice to be part of the team today.”
It was also a great day for Sophie Molineux. Fans and pundits questioned Cricket Australia’s decision to elect her as the captain following Alyssa Healy’s retirement. However, she led the team superbly and has another wonderful addition to her glittering captaincy CV.
“Too good to be true. Dad’s here as well, it is a special day,” said Molineux, who finished the tournament with 11 wickets at an average of 14.72 and economy of 6.75.
“[It took] a lot of thought, a lot of effort, hard work and a group that were ready to do anything for each other. And that’s been a real thing in these last four months.”
Australia win 7th Women’s T20 World Cup title: Reactions from around the world
“Australia women’s team are quite possibly the best sports team in the world,” wrote Michael Vaughan on X (formerly Twitter). “They keep getting better & better and it’s down to the England team & others to try and catch up.”
Harsha Bhogle was more critical, saying England were too conservative.
“England were way way too conservative against the most aggressive and talented batting team in the tournament. Perfectly exemplified by Nat Sciver-Brunt getting 58 (53),” Bhogle wrote.
“The one player who could have batted England to a big total, a proper world class batter, just knocked the ball around today. They ended up at least 30 short, if not more.”
Here are some of the other reactions.
