Australia Lifts Women’s Cricket World Cup
NEW DELHI, April 3: Remaining undefeated in the entire tournament, Australia lifted the Women’s World Cup in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Sunday for the record seventh time defeating England y 71 runs.
Helped by a sublime 170 from opener Alyssa Healy, Australia amassed a daunting 356 for five but the defending champions England, faced with a record target, kept up with the run rate but ran out of wickets to be dismissed for 285 in the 44th over, with Nat Sciver unbeaten on 148.
The victory continued Australia’s dominance of the 50-over format with their seventh title from 12 World Cups and extended their one-day international record to 38 wins from 39 matches over the past four years.
Healy went on from a run-a-ball century to record the second-highest ODI score by an Australian woman and to lead Australia to an extraordinary total of 356-5 as it batted after losing the toss at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Healy’s 160-run opening partnership with Rachael Haynes in just over 29 overs dampened the spirits of an England team which was hoping for back-to-back titles after winning the 2017 World Cup at home.
Her 156-run partnership with Beth Mooney for the second wicket left England close to despair. Had it been a one-off, Healy’s innings would have been an extraordinary and memorable one. But Healy also made 129 and put on 216 with Haynes in Australia’s semi-final win over the West Indies five days ago.
Australia was 316-2 when Healy was out in the 30th over. From the 138 balls she faced, she hit 26 fours. Among other milestones, she took her tally of runs in the tournament to 509, a record for a Women’s World Cup which overtook the record set by Haynes during her innings in the final.
Australia came into the tournament as the top-ranked team in women’s one-day internationals and as the favourite to win the world title for the seventh time. It reached the final unbeaten in eight matches and with a 157-run semi-final win over the West Indies. England’s path to the final was more difficult. It lost its first three matches and was on the brink of elimination from knock-out stage if it lost one more. England went on to win five matches in a row in virtual knockout circumstances and reached the final with a 137-run semi-final win over South Africa.
(Manas Dasgupta)
