Gardner mows down England, Oz reap rewards
North Sound (Antigua), Nov. 25: Australia breezed to their fourth Women’s World T20 title, thrashing England by eight wickets in the final here on Saturday.
England faltered with the bat after winning the toss, struggling to 105 all out in 19.4 overs with opener Danielle Wyatt (43) being the top-scorer. Pacer Megan Schutt (2/13), leggie Giorgia Wareham (2/11) and all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner (3/22) led Australia’s clinical effort with the ball.
Chasing a comfortable target, Australia raced to victory in 15.1 overs with Gardner and captain Meg Lanning remaining unbeaten on 33 and 28 respectively.
Interestingly, England had also mustered 105 against Australia in the final of the 2014 edition and even on that occasion, the team from Down Under cruised to a famous win. With another emphatic win on Saturday, Australia extended their dominance in the showpiece event of the shortest format, lifting their fourth trophy in tournament’s sixth edition. Australia are also the most successful team in ODI World Cup with six titles.
However, Australia had not win a major event since their World T20 triumph four years ago, making Saturday’s triumph sweeter.
Their sole loss in the tournament came against India in the group stage before they bounced back to beat the West Indies in the semifinals. Lanning, who hit the winning run, said being outplayed by India did not affect the team’s morale heading into the knock-outs. “The last two World Cups really hurt and we had to change a few things and move it forward. The group embraced it and it was a very satisfying win. The loss against India did not rock us,” said Lanning. — PTI Brief scores: England 105 in 19.4 overs (Wyatt 43, Gardner 3/22) lost to Australia 106/2 in 15.1 overs (Gardner 33, Lanning 28).