Key events
2nd over: Australia 21-1 (Mooney 2, Litchfield 4) Phoebe Litchfield joins Mooney. Shot! She walks down the wicket first ball and times Bell away for four. What a shot. It’s all about wickets for England, they probably have to bowl Australia out to have a chance here.
WICKET! Georgia Voll b Bell 9 (Australia 17-1)
England needed that! Lauren Bell gets some extra bounce and Voll chops on to her own stumps!
Lauren Bell starts from the Pavilion End. Beth Mooney takes a huge swipe at her first ball but connects only with North West London air. Close! Bell has a shy at the stumps in her follow through but she misses the stumps! Georgia Voll was nowhere near home after backing up too far, Bell can’t believe she’s misses as she had all three stumps to aim at. Four wides! Big swing from Bell but it is a wide and wild delivery that misses the cut strip and is thus given as a No Ball. Free hit incoming. Voll slaps the short ball freebir for four and the air is sucked out of Lord’s.
1st over: Australia 6-0 (Voll 5, Mooney 1) Voll pumps Dean’s first ball back over her head for four! Ah. But hang on, has the gamble paid off for England and Dean?! Voll is given out LBW… but the DRS shows clearly that the ball pitched outside leg stump so the decision is overturned. England thought they had an early one but it is chalked off. A decent comeback from Dean though, just six off it in total.
You’d think England are at least twenty runs short but they do have runs on the board and can put some pressure on with early wickets. Nat Sciver-Brunt calls her side into a huddle as the Australia opening pair of Georgia Voll and Beth Mooney stride out. Charlie Dean is going to start with the ball for England, Sciver-Brunt mixing it up already…
England make 150-4 off their 20 overs
Australia need 151 runs to win the T20I World Cup. Freya Kemp launches Sophie Molineux down the ground for SIX to haul England up to a target they can defend if they bowl out of their skins. They’ll need to, Australia will fancy this chase but the wicket is a classically stodgy Lord’s one. Pace off and spin will play a big part.
Nat Sciver-Brunt held the innings together for England, albeit her strike rate of 109 is indicative of how tricksy the pitch is. Freya Kemp added some much needed left-handed impetus for the home side, hitting five boundaries to make 44 off 28 balls.
Don’t go anywhere, this could be a bum squeaker.
19th over: England 137-4 (Sciver-Brunt 55, Kemp 34) Excellent penultimate over from Sutherland, just six runs off it. NSB clubs a full toss to the boundary rider, on such margins a game like this can hinge. England need a strong finish, a crucial six deliveries coming up.
18th over: England 131-4 (Sciver-Brunt 51, Kemp 32) Fifty to Nat Sciver-Brunt! This has been a real Captain’s knock but she still needs to open the shoulders and capitalise. Kemp rocks back and slaps four through the leg side.
England have 12 balls left with Dani Gibson waiting in the wings. Everything must go!
17th over: England 122-4 (Sciver-Brunt 49, Kemp 26) Kim Garth’s slower ball is a thing of beauty. Slower balls and cutters have been effective on this surface, England will have noted that. They also have their trio of spinners who can get some purchase on a dry pitch.
Cripes! Sciver-Brunt top edges a scoop over the keeper and away for four to bring up the fifty partnership. Eight off the over and Garth finishes her four overs with 1-20.
16th over: England 114-4 (Sciver-Brunt 43, Kemp 25) Sophie Molineux to Nat Sciver-Brunt. Captain to Captain. Four! NSB plays a lovely drive through cover for four to win the first battle. A pull to deep midwicket brings Kemp on strike. Two welcome runs off an edge behind. England rotate strike to make it nine runs off the over. Four overs to go for England to get as many as they can, Kim Garth is back for her final over.
15th over: England 105-4 (Sciver-Brunt 37, Kemp 22) Freya Kemp pulls the first ball after drinks for four and then times the undercrackers off a whip through the leg side for another welcome boundary and it brings the 100 up.
England still have Dani Gibson in the hutch and have pushed the accelerator.
14th over: England 93-4 (Sciver-Brunt 35, Kemp 12) Ten runs an over from here gets England 155, that’s below par in my book. Australia will be licking their lips at anything under 170. Lots resting on Nat Sciver-Brunt who is currently going at less than a run a ball. Some nifty running between the wickets gets England
Time for a drink. Rocket fuel please.
13th over: England 85-4 (Sciver-Brunt 31, Kemp 8) England have hit just eight boundaries in their innings so far, Australia have been razor sharp. Bosh! As if on cue, Freya Kemp stands tall and slots Lucy Hamilton down the ground for four. Stand and deliver! Nine in total off the over.
12th over: England 76-4 (Sciver-Brunt 29, Kemp 1) Nat Sciver-Brunt really is crucial to England’s cause now, she knows exactly this and is watchful to Georgia Wareham. Six runs off the over as the camera pans to Alice Capsey nervously biting her nails on the balcony. What she would give to still be out there.
11th over: England 70-4 (Sciver-Brunt 25, Kemp 0) Freya Kemp joins her captain and is beaten first ball by Garth! A bit of extra zip on that one. Top over from Garth, she has 1-12 from her three overs. Tidy.
WICKET! Heather Knight lbw b Garth 2 (England 70-4)
Uh-oh! Heather Knight is plumb lbw to Kim Garth and she burns a review before taking her leave. Australia celebrate with abandon, they know that is a huge scalp!
Kim Garth begins her third over. She strays onto NSB’s pads and is neatly clipped away for a single. Heather Knight works another into the leg side. England bat deep and they’ll need that depth today.
10th over: England 68-3 (Sciver-Brunt 25, Knight 1) Capsey attempted the reverse-sweep again and missed, her off stump knocked back. She was looking dangerous too. A loud cheer goes up all around Lord’s as Heather Knight walks out to bat. England’s two experienced heads at the crease at the halfway stage with plenty of work to do, they got the the job done in the semi-final and are in a battle right here right now.
WICKET! Alice Capsey b Molineux 23 (England 67-3)
Capsey’s cameo comes to an end, Molineux bowls her and roars in delight!
Australia lose a review, Captain Molineux thinks she has pined Capsey lbw but the ball hit the batter flush on the gloves rather than the pad.
Capsey scoops for two over Mooney’s head and then the next ball…
9th over: England 64-2 (Sciver-Brunt 25, Capsey 21) Gardner starts with a full bunger that Capsey swats away for England’s first boundary in 22 balls. SIX! That’s more like it from Capsey, she takes the brave option, stepping down the pitch and slotting a big one over midwicket. Shot! Gardner goes full and wide, Capsey uses her feet once more to get to the pitch and drive through extra cover for four more! 16 runs off the over, England needed that.
8th over: England 48-2 (Sciver-Brunt 24, Capsey 6) Sutherland returns, Alice Capsey uses her feet to carve into the off side but England still can’t find the boundary. Australia are very happy with a run rate of just six an over. Ash Gardner is coming on for the next, England need to put some pressure on her.
7th over: England 43-2 (Sciver-Brunt 22, Capsey 5) Georgia Wareham into the attack and England still can’t get any momentum, just four runs off the over.
Yishai emails in with a very succinct summing up of the current situation:
“Dominant start for Australia at this stage, proving so far why they are hot favorites for this final. England haven’t quite managed to get away from this tight bowling, and the two wickets that have fallen have fairly halted any momentum England might try to build. With thr introduction of spin imminant, England batters must aim to break the shackles and put the pressure back on Australia. In these conditions totals of less than 150 ought not to be sufficient. However, with Sciver-Brunt at the crease and still plenty of time and wickets in hand, England still have plenty of chances to recover and put up a strong total.”
6th over: England 39-2 (Sciver-Brunt 18, Capsey 4) Hamilton oversteps the front line this time, Alice Capsey mowes the free hit to midwicket and sets off for a crazy single! Ash Gardner fluffs the throw, Capsey would have been out by a country mile. It’s been a nervy start from England. Six runs off the over and that’s the powerplay done.
5th over: England 33-2 (Sciver-Brunt 17, Capsey 1) Alice Capsey joins her skipper in the middle and glance her first ball into the off side to get off the mark. England need a partnership.
WICKET! Danni Wyatt-Hodge c Mooney b Sutherland 8 (England 32-2)
Huge wicket! There is a tickle on the gloves and so Wyatt-Hodge has to go! All credit to Beth Mooney who heard a noise and made sure she snaffled the leg side chance.
Annabel Sutherland has an expensive start to her first over, NSB whips her off the pads for four and then the bowler over steps to give away a free hit off. Sciver-Brunt hangs back and heaves the freebie for four.
Now than, Beth Mooney dives down the leg side and thinks Wyatt-Hodge has got a glove on an innocuous delivery from Sutherland… Australia send it upstairs…
4th over: England 20-1 (Wyatt-Hodge 7, Sciver-Brunt 7) Sophie Molineux brings herself on to bowl. Wyatt-Hodge carves for four to bring up her 300th run of the tournament! Eeeesht! Sciver-Brunt edges and sets off for a quick single… her partner was run out if the throw from backward point hit the stumps but luckily for England and DWH it was a bit high meaning Beth Mooney had to gather and then take the bails, a full length dive saves Wyatt-Hodge.
3rd over: England 14-1 (Wyatt-Hodge 2, Sciver-Brunt 6) Beth Mooney is alternating being stood up and back to the stumps, perhaps an effort to upset the rhythm of the batters. It’s working, just three runs off Garth’s second over, Australia are on top in the early exchanges.
2nd over: England 11-1 (Wyatt-Hodge 1, Sciver-Brunt 4) Nat Sciver-Brunt arrives in the middle… she gets off the mark with a beautiful cover drive to her first delivery, sending the ball whistling through the covers to loud cheers that are tinged with nerves. The crowd will play a role today.
WICKET! Amy Jones c Voll b Hamilton 6 (England 7-1)
Gone! Amy Jones drives a full ball straight to backward point where Georgia Voll takes a sharp low catch. Australia have an early wicket and the left arm seamer Lucy Hamilton takes her first world cup wicket!
1st over: England 7-0 (Jones 6, Wyatt-Hodge 1) Jones lets the first ball go outside off stump. The next is inside edged down to fine leg for four! Georgia Wareham trying in vain to haul it in. This is a fresh pitch, it is biscuit coloured and looks a beauty but it will be lower and slower than the Oval. Jones stands tall and punches a single to the boundary rider on the off side. Wyatt-Hodge is up to the stumps… close! An inside edge on to pad and Beth Mooney loses sight of waht would actually have been a simple catch! Early let off for England. Wyatt-Hodge off the mark with a slash through cover and Amy Jones pinches a single off the final ball to make it seven runs off the first over.
Here we go! Lord’s looks an absolute picture, huge cheers ring out for Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones as they stride out to the middle. Kim Garth is going to open the bowling for Australia from the Nursery End. Play!
The players emerge onto the outfield for the anthems, well be underway very shortly. Can England grab this game by the scruff of the neck and post a decent score to put the Aussies under pressure. All eyes on Danni Wyatt-Hodge…
Hello to Kevin Tong!
“Looking forward to your live coverage of the final! It’s still half an hour to go but I’ve already clicked on to your page excitedly. You know what would make it even better? If this were bumped up above the live coverage of the Grand Prix on The Guardian’s Sport page HAHA. I do love F1, but this is a World Cup final after all, isn’t it? I know it won’t happen but one can try! Hopefully not the last World Cup final England make this year too!”
We can but hope on both of your points Kevin, though if I was a betting man I’d say the former is more likely than the latter…
TEAMS:
England: Amy Jones (wk), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell
Australia: Georgia Voll, Beth Mooney (wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux (c), Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton
Australia win the toss and choose to field first
Shows what I know! Sophie Molineux calls the coin correctly and inserts England.
Nat Sciver-Brunt says she was going to field first too but she isn’t too fussed about batting first either. “I was going to bowl as well. Runs on the board always good, too.”
Both captains say their teams are unchanged. So Ellyse Perry plays for Australia.
Australia have vanquished England in the World Cup finals of 2012, 2014 and 2018 bbbbut they have also failed to make the last two white ball World Cup finals in 2024 and 2025. They will be more than happy to spoil England’s party today. It will be interesting to see what the captains decide to do if they win the toss, the average first-innings score here is 158. Runs on the board and build some scoreboard pressure? That’d be my thinking. (You knurrr nuthin, Jim Wallace)
You feel both top order batting cards are crucial, Danni Wyatt-Hodge has been in sparkling form all tournament and Sciver-Brunt and Heather Knight got some time in the middle and proved their big game credentials with a crucial partnership against South Africa in the semi-final, digging England out of a 25-3 shaped hole. Beth Mooney is a key wicket for Australia, she’s got them over the line many times in big games including world finals, her and Sciver-Brunt both have eight T20 World Cup fifties apiece.
“C’mon ICC!” Ora shouts from the stage. That is quite funny.
In February 2023, after Australia won their fourth consecutive world title, at Newlands, Beth Mooney was asked what advice she would give to a team who were trying to beat hers. She thought for a moment, then said: “Just don’t turn up. It’s too hard. Don’t bother going.” There can be no better summary of what England will be up against on Sunday when they face Australia in the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup at Lord’s.Of course, other teams continued to turn up: South Africa triumphed over Australia in 2024’s semi-final, while India replicated the feat in the 50-over World Cup last year. But for a team with no silverware in their possession, Australia are pretty relaxed about life right now. On Thursday the team were spotted in the crowd at Wimbledon, Phoebe Litchfield leading an “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” chant. They will know very well that they are massive favourites to spoil England’s party on Sunday, after a flawless run in the group stages and a hammering of West Indies in Tuesday’s semi-final.”
Raf Nicholson is at Lord’s for us and has written about the task England have on their hands in the coming hours.
It is hot and sunny at Lord’s, Rita Ora is currently doing her thing under pristine blue skies as the stands fill up.
It’s fair to say Nat Sciver-Brunt and her side don’t sound like the biggest Ora fans going:
Preamble
James Wallace
It’s coming home?
Hello and welcome to the BIG ONE. Can Charlotte Edwards’ England side follow in the recent footsteps of the Red Roses (rugby) and Lionesses (football) to achieve their own crowning and cut through moment?
Chloe Kelly and co won the Euro 2022 tournament on home turf and England’s women’s rugby team secured World Cup glory as the host nation last year. Can Nat Sciver-Brunt’s side do the same?
They’ll have to beat the juggernaut that is Australia in order to do so. The Green and Gold have won the T20 World Cup SIX times to England’s one – the inaugural tournament in 2009 when head coach Edwards was captain.
Both sides have been the standout teams in this tournament and deservedly take their place in the final at Lord’s this afternoon. Each is unbeaten and confidently swatted away their semi-final opponents at the Oval this past week.
We’ll have the teams, toss and a performance from erm Rita Ora in the next hour or so before play begins at 3.30pm. Do drop us a line and… let’s do this.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/jul/05/england-v-australia-womens-t20-cricket-world-cup-final-live
About the Author
