SPORTS: England beat England in Women World Cup final, Australia win for seventh time

Despite Nate Saver excellent 148-run innings, Australia defeated arch-rivals England by 71 runs in the final of the Women T20 World Cup to w...

Despite Nate Saver excellent 148-run innings, Australia defeated arch-rivals England by 71 runs in the final of the Women T20 World Cup to win the title for the seventh time.

 

Group photo of Australia with World Cup trophy - Photo: AFP

England captain Heather Knight won the toss and elected to bowl first in a match played at Hegley Oval in Christchurch.

Australian openers Alyssa Haley and Rachel Haynes gave their team a 160-run lead to lay the foundation for victory. Rachel Haynes returned to the pavilion with 68 runs.

 

 

Alyssa Haley continued to bat brilliantly from the other end, scoring a century as well as a 156-run partnership for the second wicket with Beth Mooney.

Alyssa Haley was dismissed after a 170-run innings with 26 fours, the highest ever by any player in the men's and women's World Cup finals.

Beth Mooney was dismissed for 62 and Australia scored 356 for 5 in the allotted overs which is the second highest score ever in any World Cup final, while it is the first time that anyone has reached the final of the Women's World Cup. The team has crossed the 300-run mark.

 

 Anya Sherbasol took three wickets for England.

In pursuit of the target, Danny Weight 4 and Timmy Beyonc 26 were all out for 26 runs while England lost both openers by 38 runs.

At this stage, captain Heather Knight and Nate Saver shared 48 runs but the English captain innings came to an end with a total of 86 runs.

Net Saver held one end and scored a century while presenting a brilliant game but no player from the other end supported him.

Saver played an unbeaten 148-run innings but his turn did not save England from a 71-run defeat in the final.

The entire England team was bowled out for 285 runs and Australia won the Women's T20 title for the seventh time. 

Alyssa Haley was named the best player of the World Cup along with the match.