Women’s World Cup Final Australia vs England: Rolling on the Alyssa Healy special, Australia annex a record seventh title | Cricket News

CHRISTCHURCH: Australia blasted their way to a record seventh Women’s World Cup title with a crushing 71-point win over traditional rivals England, marking their undisputed dominance in the tournament after a hundred to cut Alyssa Healy’s blast in the final here on Sunday.
Playing the innings of his life, Healy put England on the attack with a sensational 170 from 138 balls that propelled Australia to a whopping 356 for five.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Defending champions England needed something more than special to win the record hunt but continued to lose wickets throughout the innings which ended at 285 in 43.4 overs.
Natalie Sciver, who scored 148 of 121 unbeaten balls for her second consecutive hundred against Australia in the competition, eventually ran out of partners.

Australian pacer Megan Schutt (2/42) unleashed a brilliant new ball spell as she took out last game centurion Danielle Wyat (4) and Tammy Beaumont (27) with her lethal swingers before leg spinner Alana King (3 /64) does not turn the ball on a bather to finish with three crucial wickets including that of the English skipper Heather Knight (26 years old).
Healy, who was dropped at 41, starred with the England attack in his spellbinding shot, which is now the highest-ever individual tally in a men’s and women’s cricket World Cup final.

Adam Gilchrist (149, 2007), Sciver (148 in this game), Ricky Ponting (140, 2003) and Viv Richards (138, 1979) are behind Healy in the elite list.
Healey’s opening partner Rachael Haynes (68 of 93) and Beth Mooney (62 of 47) also beat with confidence as Australia scored the highest team tally in a World Cup final. women’s cricket and second only to the Australian men’s team effort of 359 to two against India in 2003.

To put Australia’s achievement into perspective, it was their sixth victory in seven World Cup finals, making Meg Lanning’s unit one of the greatest teams of all time. Australia won their first points trophy in 1973.
Although England finished second, it was still a remarkable campaign for the defending champions who entered the final after five straight wins after defeats in their first three games.

They always had the pace under control in the massive chase, but the lack of partnerships cost them the game.
Sciver, who broke 15 fours and a six in her epic shot, battled to the finish alongside No. 10 batsman Charlotte Dean (21 of 24), but they had to do too much in the end. The duo shared a stand of 65 for the ninth wicket to go deeper into the game.

Earlier, Healy forged a 160-point stand with Haynes before sharing 156 points with southpaw Mooney who was dispatched past skipper Meg Lanning to maintain the left and right combination.
A packed, neutral crowd at Hagley Oval was in for a treat with Healy showing devastating form en route to his second consecutive hundred in the knockout stage, after scoring 129 against West Indies in the semi-finals.

Healy flaunted his 360-stroke range in a sensational effort, scoring runs at will against a bowling team that had no answer to his genius.
For most of his innings, Healy exposed all three stumps to make room and hit the bowlers over the middle defender.

Healy never allowed ODI number one bowler Sophie Eccelstone (1/71) to set up, using her feet against her and other spinners to knock them straight down the pitch.
She also cut and shot on her way to a fifth hundred ODI and when she got bored crossing the boundary halfway and into cover, she moved through the stump to play the scoop shot.

Expecting heavy dew in the evening, defending champions England opted to bat Australia.
Australia, the only undefeated team in the tournament, came out determined to stamp their authority one last time in the tournament and they certainly did it with the bat.

England limited the damage of the last five overs by taking four wickets.
Pacer Anya Shrubsole (3/46) was the only England bowler to finish with respectable numbers.
Sciver, Charlotte Dean and Kate Cross conceded more than 8 runs per over.