Ashes rivals England and Australia faced each other at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch for the Women’s World Cup trophy. England and Australia are two of the most successful teams in the history of the tournament. England has won the championship four times and were the defending champions. On the other hand, Australia had won the tournament six times thus the match was expected to be a cracker of a contest.
Breaking the usual norm of choosing to bat first in a final, England won the toss and elected to field first. Australia started steadily as the openers, Rachel Haynes and Alyssa Healy wanted to get used to the fresh pitch. They amassed 37/0, hitting six fours till the end of 10 overs. However, the pair increased their scoring rate as they scored 55 runs in the next 10 overs, making it 92/0. They also made the best out of the dropped chances from the England team and added 160 runs for the opening wicket.
Haynes (68) was dismissed by Sophie Ecclestone on the first ball of the 30th over. The next batter Beth Mooney (68) and Healy then stitched a partnership of 156 in just 98 balls to make England further regret their decision to bowl first. Healy went on to score 170 off 138 balls, including 26 fours. The partnership ended when Healy was stumped by Amy Jones. Australia women eventually ended up with 356/5.
In reply, the defending champions lost the wicket of Danni Wyatt (4) at the team score of 12. Her opening partner Tammy Beaumont (27) looked to go big but her inning was cut short by Megan Schutt. The team build small partnerships in the 40s and 50s but couldn’t convert those into something substantial. Apart from Nat Sciver, nobody could cross the 30-run mark. Notably, Sciver scored 148 off 121 including 15 fours and a six. However, the innings came in a losing cause as the team was restricted to 285 all-out, losing the game by 71 runs.
This is how Twitter reacted after Australia clinched their seventh title
Law of averages: *exists*
Meg Lanning: We don't do that here 🤷â€â™€ï¸ #CWC22 #AUSvENG pic.twitter.com/d18ADepzV0
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) April 3, 2022
In awe of this @AusWomenCricket team. Now WC champions. Always play with a smile to add to their insane skill. Could not be prouder to support them. â¤ï¸ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡ºðŸ¾ðŸ¥‚
— Ed Cowan (@eddiecowan) April 3, 2022
What a spirited run chase by England in Women’s WC final!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 3, 2022
Spare a thought for Natalie Sciver ðŸ˜ðŸ¥º#CWC22 #TeamEngland pic.twitter.com/3X2k7ndMrb
— Female Cricket #CWC22 (@imfemalecricket) April 3, 2022
Congratulations to @AusWomenCricket for winning yet another World Cup. Now sit the next few out, you've earned it 😅 Commiserations to England, well fought @natsciver ðŸ‘🽠This was a highly entertaining event, well done to @ICC and all involved. #CWC22
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) April 3, 2022
Meg Lanning as the captain in ODI format:
Matches – 75
Won – 66
Lost – 8
Tie – 1Captain, Leader, Legend, Lanning.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 3, 2022
You might be waking up disappointed at this from England but we have witnessed some absolute brilliance that will go down in history from Alyssa Healy
An innings to show youngsters across the world. This Australian team really have it all in abundance#CWC22 #bbccricket
— Georgie Heath (@GeorgieHeath27) April 3, 2022
Alyssa Healy was unbelievably good in this tournament. Only player in cricket history to score 100s in the semi-final and final of the same World Cup. Player of the match in both World Cup Final 2022 and T20 WC Final 2020. Proper match-winner. #CWC22
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) April 3, 2022
Congrats Australia on winning a 7th WC title ðŸ†ðŸ‘ Well deserved (their 40-2 W/L ODI record post-2017 WC speaks for itself). Meg Lanning puts the seal her captaincy legacy with an ODI WC title
Kudos to England too for the fight & resilience they showed in their WC journey 👠pic.twitter.com/tMBOymfhXL
— Sivy Kanefied 🇳🇿 (@Sivy62) April 3, 2022
5 YEARS IN THE MAKING. WELL DONE @AusWomenCricket – YOU MAKE ALL OF US SO SO SO PROUD.
— LadiesWhoLeague (@LadiesWhoLeague) April 3, 2022
