England were dealt familiar heartache in a World Cup final as Australia claimed a record-extending seventh Women’s T20 crown with a thumping seven-wicket win at Lord’s.
Nat Sciver-Brunt, who carried son Theo out with her for the national anthems, top-scored but used 53 deliveries in her unbeaten 58 and England’s 150 for four proved meat and drink for their Ashes rivals.
Australia made it 7-0 in World Cup finals over England as Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield broke the back of the chase with a 100-partnership in 67 balls to dampen the spirits of a 28,887-strong sellout crowd.
England won all six games to reach this showpiece and lend credence to the idea that they could buck the trend against their oldest foes but Australia, also unbeaten in this tournament, remain a cut above in the women’s game, with Mooney’s 64 and Litchfield’s 48 backing up their earlier discipline with the ball.
Mooney and Litchfield showed a cavalier approach that eluded England, who were bidding to invoke the spirit of 2017 – the last time they won a World Cup, the 50-over edition, also on home soil.
While Sciver-Brunt’s side were unable to create their own Lionesses or Red Roses moment, they have made large strides in recent weeks and will rue having to bat first on a sluggish Lord’s pitch.
Amy Jones registered her fifth single-figure score in six innings when she drove loosely to gully and while Danni Wyatt-Hodge passed 300 tournament runs, she gloved Annabel Sutherland down the leg-side and Mooney, up to the stumps, completed the catch at the second attempt.
Sciver-Brunt authoritatively drove her first ball through the covers to the rope but England could not cut loose, and while Alice Capsey temporarily broke the shackles with 16 off Ash Gardner, she was bowled for 23 after missing a reverse sweep off Sophie Molineux.
Heather Knight was deceived by the metronomic Kim Garth’s leg-cutter and plumb lbw, although Nicola Carey gave Kemp a let-off on eight after fumbling a pick-up that likely would have led to a run-out.
While Sciver-Brunt held the innings together, she could not get going, regularly finding the sweeper fielder and contributing just five fours in total.
However, Kemp, who should have been run-out on 27 only for Mooney to wildly throw over the stumps, showed more urgency and got England to 150 with a big hit for six in Molineux’s final over as she and Sciver-Brunt put on an unbroken 80.
Charlie Dean thought she had made the breakthrough in the first over of the reply after beating Georgia Voll on the outside edge, but the umpire’s decision was overturned as the ball pitched outside leg-stump.
Voll was sent packing when she dragged on to her stumps off Lauren Bell, who was otherwise wayward and expensive, and the decision to give her a second over in the powerplay backfired as Mooney rattled off three fours.
Australia’s 50 was brought up in just the fifth over when Charlie Dean was dispatched over deep midwicket by Litchfield, who alongside Mooney were able to find the boundary rope, piercing the gaps and manipulating the field in a way England could not do earlier.
Sophie Ecclestone, rated as England’s best bowler, was not introduced until the eighth over and by then Australia’s top-order duo were set.
While Litchfield fell short of a fifty as Dean rearranged her stumps, any hint of an England comeback narrowed with Mooney pumping another three fours in an over off Kemp.
Mooney’s 49-ball knock ended with Australia still needing 11 for victory when she was trapped in front by Ecclestone, who claimed a low catch at mid-on to seemingly see off Ellyse Perry only for the third umpire to rule the ball brushed the turf first.
England especially were left seething by the controversial decision before Australia got over the line with 17 balls to spare when Ecclestone’s wide delivery flew to the boundary.
