Gardner, Wareham help Australia lift fourth title
England's quest for being double world champions ended in a whimper after batting implosion
England's quest for being double world champions ended in a whimper after batting implosion
Scorer: M Venkat Raghav | Commentator: Deivarayan Muthu
11.20pm Sir Viv Richards hands over the trophy to Lanning at the ground named after him. Australia celebrate under fire-work filled skies. That's all she wrote for the first-ever Women's World T20. I'll leave you with Shashank Kishore's report. Hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as we did bringing it to you. This is Deivarayan Muthu signing off on the behalf of Shashank and Raghav.
Presentation:
Lanning, Australia captain: We did not have our best day in the field. But the bowlers did a good job. Wareham today was outstanding with the direct hit and her control with the bowling was excellent. I thought it was pad first - and I wanted to review. Worked out pretty well. 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 - maybe a couple of years before it would have rocked us - but we were very calm. All the support staff did a great job and Aussie fans have travelled a long way. Ash said to me: 'no silly singles'. The last couple of World Cups did not go well for us, but we were ready today.
Knight, England captain: I thought it was a much better pitch than the semis. Wyatt started well, but we lost wickets through the innings. We knew there would be dew, more dew than there was in the semis. We wanted to bat first, though. We came with some inexperience, but the girls have stepped up. Pleased with Sophie, Gordon how they stepped up.
Gardner is the Player of the final: There was obviously a lot of nerves but we took confidence from the semi-final. It's pretty amazing that we got the win. I don't think I had to stray too far away from my stock ball. Every single bowler did a good job today. Yeah, I did not have the tournament I would have liked. I was fortunate enough to hit some boundaries. To finish it with Meg⊠I was seeing it okay, when the bowler tossed it up, I went through with the shots. I'm speechless to be honest
Alyssa Healy, Player of the tournament: The girls played beautifully tonight and proud of the team's effort. I don't have an answer but I've played freely and knew it would come off eventually. Hoping to continue at the Big Bash. It's pretty special and we've worked hard in the last 12 months. Win or less today, we're proud of the way we played. The 2010 World Cup in the Caribbean is my favourite, but this one could well top it. It takes us three days to get to the West Indies but it's a fun place to tour.
Let's hear from the winners
Perry: Very special, it has been a long 24 months. Wonderful tournament and a lot of fun. It as been a huge pleasure, hopefully it inspires young boys and girls back home. We're really good friends and it has been a wonderful journey for us.
Healy: I don't know I'm enjoying playing with freedom. The batting line-up we have is unbelievable.
Wareham: Pretty unreal and it hasn't sunk in yet. We were counting it down and we were all trusting each other. Getting the opportunity at the world stage has been enormous for me.
Kimmince: Pretty emotional. My journey in cricket has been very up and down, pretty emotional. This is the reason why you play the game. To win a World Cup is absolutely amazing.
Mooney: Yeah, we've done well in the whole tournament. Consistent and clinical. The bowlers were good, backed up by the batsmen and especially Gardner was fantastic hitting out in the end⊠It's been an amazing journey for Australian cricket. A lot of support from the public back home.
Schutt: Pretty happy, I am trying to hold back my tears. It's pretty hard to hear Meg out there but it's a good distraction to have. I love noise so good crowd works for me.
The celebrations begin in Australia's camp. All the women get together, huddle up, and belt out the team song. What a moment for them! This is their fourth World T20 title. All other teams have two titles among them. Australia just had one minor blip against India in their road to victory. This win was set up by Schutt, Gardner, and Wareham. Perry also pitched in, dismissing Sciver for her 100th T20I wicket. Gardner wasn't done just yet. She starred with the bat, again, marshalling the 106 chase with her captain Lanning. England will be gutted. The trophy isn't coming home, again. They might rue some of their tactical decisions: opting to bat after winning the toss, going after the bowlers on a two-paced pitch, where a more measured approach could have worked, and packing their attack with spin.
Australia's players line up near the boundary
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Mark Robinson, England women's coach, admitted too many of their batsmen had struggled for rhythm after rain affected the start of the tournament
The Australia captain said the strength and depth of their batting has been crucial to their success
England captain turns eyes to the future after another knockout defeat by Australia
How the players felt after winning their fourth World title