Women's T20 World Cup final: England 'outplayed' by Australia but find positives from strong campaign on home soil

England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt admitted her side were “outplayed” but can be proud of their runner-up finish to Australia at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

Australia stormed to a record-extending seventh Women’s T20 World Cup title after an impressive display in the sell-out final at Lord’s, as England lost by seven wickets to suffer their first and only defeat of the tournament.

England slipped to 70-4 after losing the toss and batting first on home soil, then rallied to only total 150-4 following Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten 58 and an unbroken 80-run partnership with Freya Kemp (44 not out).

Beth Mooney top-scored with 64 and put on a 100-run partnership with Phoebe Litchfield (48), as Australia looked in constant control of their chase before reaching their victory target with 17 balls to spare.

“The best two sides were in the final and Australia bowled really well to really restrict us and not let us play too freely,” Sciver-Brunt said in her press conference. “We didn’t have enough runs in the end.

“In truth, when they have such a long batting line-up, you’d always ask the openers to go and take on the game and they did that brilliantly. We were outplayed.”

She added: “I think you would ask the bowlers how they felt about what just happened – they would probably want to bowl a bit better. The batters would say the same as well barring Freya Kemp, who came in and played a crucial and brilliant innings.

“I guess we were restricted heavily by a really delighting bowling attack that had been really successful throughout the tournament. I could have tried to take on the game a bit earlier, but I wasn’t finding the wicket that easy, to be honest.”

It is the fourth time England have lost to Australia in a Women’s T20 World Cup final, following on from losses in 2012, 2014 and 2018, with Australia also claiming bragging rights in the 2022 50-over World Cup final and a historic 16-0 multi-format Ashes whitewash last January.

“In a World Cup that has meant so much to us, I think the overriding feeling is we’ve lost a World Cup final, not one against Australia,” Sciver-Brunt insisted.

“Yes it’s Australia but they’re quite a different side to the one that we played in The Ashes, like we are. They were obviously extremely clinical and very impressive.”

Sciver-Brunt ‘proud’ after England’s runner-up finish

Both teams came into the final with perfect records in the tournament, with England winning all five of their group matches before beating South Africa by 40 runs in the semi-finals, leaving Sciver-Brunt proud of her side’s performance.

“We didn’t show our best today, so I guess the gap [with Australia] is probably closer than that [result] shows,” Sciver-Brunt said.

“I think throughout the tournament both teams have played some brilliant cricket, having been put under pressure by other teams and coming out the other side.

“Barring this game, we have won some games in emphatic fashion and are hugely confident about our ability and what we can do as a team. I don’t want our girls to forget how proud we can be about everything that we’ve done throughout this tournament.”

Sciver-Brunt’s positivity was backed up by head coach Charlotte Edwards, captain of England’s 2009 World Cup-winning side, who believes there has been significant progress made in the team since she took on the role last spring.

“I think you’ve seen improvements in some of our younger players and that’s what’s been really pleasing this tournament for me – how they’ve performed on the big stage,” Edwards said post-match.

“I’ve seen the improvements they’ve made in six months, I’m just excited to work another 12 months with these players to see where we can take them. It has been quite significant the strides we’ve made, but we’ve still got further to go, which is exciting for us as a group.”

She added: “I’m pretty content and I’m pretty happy with where the group is at. I think the future’s really bright for us as a team. We know the standard, we’ve seen it today, and I think that will only drive us forward and hopefully motivate us even more.”

What’s next?

Focus now swiftly switches to the first-ever women’s Test match at Lord’s, as England host India from Friday, live on Sky Sports from 10am (11am first ball). Not got Sky? Stream cricket and more with NOW.

Showcase