The Australian team won the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 after beating arch-rivals England by 71 runs in the final on Sunday at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. The Baggy Green women’s side was the undefeated champion after winning all of their nine matches in the tournament. It was the seventh World Cup victory for Australia’s women’s team. The Aussie keeper, Alyssa Healy shattered a new batting record with an aggressive performance during the final. Let’s have a look at how the Australian women’s side defeated England women’s team in the final match.
ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 Final Match Report: Australia vs England
England offered Australia the chance to bat first at Hagley Oval. The pitch was suited to the batters, and the Australian top order didn’t miss out on batting properly on this batting-friendly surface. Two Aussie openers, Alyssa Healy and Rachael Haynes gave Australia a perfect platform by putting up 160 runs between them. After Rachael’s (68) departure, Alyssa Healy made a 156-run stand with Beth Mooney (62) for the second wicket and carried the total to 316 in the 46th over. Healy eventually departed after playing a magnificent 170-run knock, featuring 26 boundaries. Australia finished their innings with 356/5 in their allotted 50 overs. Anya Shrubsole picked up the most wickets for England with 3.
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England lost two early wickets in reply, but Nat Sciver sought to chase down the target with some effective middle-order partnerships. On the other hand, Nat was England’s lone fighter in the final against Australia. She stayed unbeaten with a superb 148* off 121 balls. Except for her, the rest of the English players were dismantled with the bat. England were bowled out for 285 runs in 43.4 overs. Alana King led Australia in bowling with three wickets.
Alyssa Healy’s Record in the Championship Match
Australia’s standout opening batter, Alyssa Healy, set a new record in the Women’s World Cup final against England on Sunday. She became the highest individual scorer in a World Cup final for any batter (men or women). Healy surpassed former Australian wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist’s 149 in the 2007 ICC Men’s World Cup final against Sri Lanka.
Surprisingly, Australian players have dominated the top scorers in the World Cup final list. The English opener, Nat Sciver, who also struck a century in the 2022 women’s World Cup final against Australia, has also made it into the top five highest scorers list.
Alyssa Healy scored 509 runs in this year’s World Cup, the first time a player has scored more than 500 runs in a women’s World Cup. Australia’s 356/5 was the first time a women’s world cup final had a score of 300 or more.
Player of the Match
Alyssa Healy of Australia was awarded player of the final after hitting 170 runs off 138 balls. She was also named Player of the Series after scoring 509 runs in 9 innings with a 56.55 batting average. Healy had two hundred and two half-centuries in the competition.
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Bottom Line
Prior to the final match of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022, Australia’s women’s team was the favourite against England’s women’s team. Australia had shown some ruthless performances in the group stage and semi-final encounter against the West Indies. Therefore, the expectation was high from Australia. On the other hand, the England women’s team made a remarkable comeback in the middle of the competition to reach the final. England felt confident about beating the Australian side in the final, given their growing confidence following a lopsided semifinal victory against South Africa. However, the Aussie opener Alyssa Healy was merciless in the final, and her batting performance was the deciding factor between the two teams.
Source: United News of Bangladesh