Two years ago, in the World
Twenty20 semi-final, England suffered a humiliation at the hands of Australia,
a six-run loss, courtesy of a collapse that saw them lose seven wickets for 60
runs. In the interim they have changed their captain, blooded new players and
won a World Cup.
Even so there was a sense of deja
vu today as they subsided from 30-1 to 105 all out, the equation this time nine
wickets lost for 75 runs. Once again, it was the old enemy Australia who were
their nemesis, storming to their fourth World T20 title by eight wickets.
For Australia it was their young
leg-spinner Georgia Wareham who unexpectedly stole the show in her first ever
outing against England, finishing with 2-11, a catch and a direct hit run-out
to her name. Ashleigh Gardner (33*) and Meg Lanning (28*) then shared a
62-run partnership, Lanning stroking the winning single through the off-side
after Gardner punished two huge sixes over Kirstie Gordon’s head to ensure the
victory came in style, with 29 balls to spare.
Their
under-par showing in the final completes what has been a difficult World
Twenty20 with the bat for England, only Amy Jones finishing in the top ten
tournament run-scorers. For Australia, meanwhile, the challenge was always to
live up to pre-tournament expectations which put them as clear favourite:
today’s clinical victory shows they have done just that.
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