On a sun-drenched Sunday at cricket’s iconic Lord’s Ground, Australia’s women’s cricket team etched another chapter into their already legendary legacy, crushing hosts England by seven wickets to lift the 10th ICC Women’s Twenty20 World Cup trophy.
The 2024 edition of the tournament went down in history as the largest and most commercially successful Women’s T20 World Cup to date, drawing a sell-out crowd of 28,883 fans to the final that promised a clash of titans. Pre-match stats pointed to two unbroken streaks: England had never lost a Women’s World Cup (across any format) on home soil, while Australia had never fallen to England in a World Cup final across all formats. By the close of play, only one of those records would hold.
After winning the toss and putting England in to bat first, Australia’s tight bowling attack put the home side on the back foot from the opening powerplay. England openers Danni Wyatt-Hodge – who became the first player in history to score over 300 runs in a single Women’s T20 World Cup – and Amy Jones both fell inside the first six overs. By the 10th over, the hosts were 67-3 after Alice Capsey was cleaned up, leaving captain Nat Sciver-Brunt to anchor the innings. Sciver-Brunt notched a record ninth T20 World Cup half-century, finishing with an unbeaten 58 from 53 balls, while Freya Kemp’s late unbeaten 44 from 28 balls dragged England to a final total of 150-4 – a total widely viewed as below par on Lord’s batting-friendly pitch. Australia’s pace duo of Lucy Hamilton (1-19) and Kim Garth led the disciplined bowling effort, restricting the dangerous English batting line-up to just enough runs to set up a chase.
What followed was a masterclass in controlled aggressive batting from Australia, who pulled off the highest successful run chase in Women’s T20 World Cup final history, finishing on 153-3 with 17 deliveries to spare. After losing opener Georgia Voll to Lauren Bell in the second over, Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield launched a devastating 100-run partnership off just 67 balls that turned the match into a one-sided contest. By the end of the powerplay, Australia was already 62-1, with Mooney finding the boundary repeatedly off England’s bowlers.
Litchfield’s aggressive innings included a spectacular reverse-sweep six off Linsey Smith, but she fell just short of a match-finishing half-century, bowled for 48 in the 13th over with Australia still 34 runs short of victory. Mooney, who notched her third match-winning half-century in as many successful World Cup finals, reached 64 from 49 deliveries (with 10 boundaries) before being pinned lbw by Sophie Ecclestone on review, with just 11 runs left to win.
It was left to Australian stalwart Ellyse Perry to hit the winning runs, capping an extraordinary career that now includes seven World T20 titles. For Perry, the win was extra special: it marked new captain Sophie Molineux’s first World Cup title, after Australia failed to claim a World Cup trophy in 20-over or 50-over formats since 2018, ending the side’s historic run of consecutive titles.
“It’s phenomenal. For it to fall our way is super special,” Perry told Sky Sports after the match. “Amazing performance from the girls against an awesome England team. To get over the line in Soph’s first World Cup (as captain), it’s a joy to be part of. To have the chance to be part of that is the privilege of a lifetime.”
Mooney, who was named both Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament for her consistent performances throughout the event, acknowledged the pressure on the side after two early tournament exits. “It’s been well documented that we haven’t made it in the last two ICC events. I woke up this morning pretty grateful we have made it this far,” she said. “I started the tournament a little rusty but I warmed up. The game plan was to settle the dugout in the powerplay in a big game. I tried to make sure we got ahead of the game as early as possible.”
For England, the defeat was a disappointing end to a historic home tournament, with coach Charlotte Edwards admitting her side was outclassed. “Gutted. We came here with so much belief and confidence to pull off something really special,” Edwards said. “But Australia are a very, very good team and we were completely outplayed.”
The win extends Australia’s staggering tournament record to seven titles from eight World T20 finals, cementing their status as the undisputed dominant force in women’s international T20 cricket.