And that is that. Thanks so much for your company over the last couple of weeks. What a brilliant tournament! We’ll be back with the OBO in no time at all. Bye!
Meg Lanning holds the World Cup high
For the fifth time, Australia are T20 world champions. The Australian skipper takes the trophy from Belinda Clark - another lovely moment. Job done.
Meg Lanning speaks. “We’ve had ups and downs and scraped through the semi-final but to put in that performance on the biggest day of our careers is something we can be very proud of.” Lovely stuff. “It was tough after we lost that first game, there were a lot of expectations on us from the outside and the inside.” Doing it without Perry too - “a very special group” to go to Plan B and C. “Just as much a part of this as anyone else.” Schutt outstanding: “That wicket up front really set it up.” Says she never thought she would be part of something like this at the ‘G.
Harmanpreet Kaur speaks. The Indian captain says they were outstanding in the league stage but struggled in the field tonight early on. She doubles down on that saying that fielding is the main issue and they need to improve if they are going to take the next step. “But future is great for us.” That it is. Asked about a women’s IPL and cricket for girls in India, she says that they are hoping for more games in the women’s challenge and is advocating for more teams to be invited to that.
Beth Mooney is player of the tournament!
More runs than anyone in a T20 World Cup campaign, capped with an unbeaten 78 in the victory tonight. “I don’t have any words,” she says off the top after taking a deep breath. She’s such a gem. “Fortunately Midge makes my life pretty easy up top hitting the ball as well as she does.” Humble, as ever. “We knew what went wrong in that first game against India, we just didn’t execute out plans. So to come out tonight and conribute with bat, ball and the field was outstanding. And to have the support of 87,000 behind us was pretty unreal as well.” Go you good thing.
Alyssa Healy is player of the World Cup Final!
There was no doubt. She’s talking to Mel Jones at the presentation. “That was unbelievable!” Healy begins. “Thank you everyone! You cannot wipe the smile off my face. Even if we lost the game tonight I still would have been smiling. I never thought we would get an opportunity like this in my career - maybe in 20 years time. This really was something special.” She says that her midsummer slump did not worry her and was able to ride the wave and enjoy the tournament - especially in front of the massive MCG crowd. Adds some nice words about Beth Mooney, her opening partner. “Hopefully we can stay together for a lot longer.”
Stick with the OBO through the presentation. We can’t be far away from hearing from the captains the players of the match and tournament.
“Hi Adam.” Hello Tanya Wintringham. “Congratulations to you and your partner on the birth of your gorgeous Winnie - she’s beautiful! Watching the girls and young women in the crowd at the G loving what’s going on makes my heart so glad. Whether or not Winnie likes cricket, it’s so good that she lives in a world that this game and this crowd exists. Go well (cross-cricket-podcast- pollination).”
Exactly this. When we were at Lord’s in 2017 for the final, a defining component of it was how the crowd didn’t sound like a normal, blokey cricket audience. I suspect there’ll be a lot of that commentary in the analysis of tonight. CA have invested a lot of time and money in trying to grow the game with women and girls and this has been the biggest moment yet on that mission. And thank you for the kind words about Winnie! For today, I decked her out in Katy Perry clobber we were gifted. Whether she likes the game or not, I’m thrilled she’ll have the option.
PS - GO WELL!
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And Geoff’s match report from the ‘G. More to come soon from him.
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Good egg (and Guardian columnist!) Megan Schutt is on TV. “I was crapping my dacks,” she says in reference to how she felt before today. She’s the absolute best. “We were all so happy to be here. To have this many people here was incredible and we just wanted to enjoy the ride.” That they did.
WHAT. A. CROWD.
Poonam Yadav was the final wicket to fall. From the first ball of the final over, holing out to midwicket, taken by Ash Gardner. Another fine piece of fielding to complete the job. Schutt and Jonassen - once again, quite magnificent. Australia have now claimed this trophy five times, tonight in front of nearly 87,000 people.
AUSTRALIA WIN THE WORLD CUP!
India all-out for 99. They win by 85 runs. Schutt finishes with 4/18.
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19th over: India 99-9 (Poonam 0, Radha 1) Target 185 When it mattered at the start of this defence, Lanning threw the ball to Schutt and Jonassen. They now hae 6/38 between them with Schutt about to bowl the final over of the game. Tremendous.
Between overs, the Cricket Ground DJ plays Zombie Nation. Respect to you.
WICKET! Radha c Mooney b Jonassen 1 (India 97-9)
Another snaffle for Mooney! Straight to her at mid-on. Jonassen joins Schutt with 3/18. Australia are one wicket away from bowling India out in a World Cup final.
18th over: India 97-8 (Poonam 0, Radha 1) Target 185 Megan Schutt has 3/18 making 12 wickets for the tournament, the most in the competition by two. And still with an over to go - provided they don’t bowl them out in the 19th, that is.
WICKET! Richa c Carey b Schutt 18 (India 96-8)
Two in three balls for Schutt! She started this in the first over and she determined to finish it herself as well. Carey takes it safely at mid-on. Clinical. Too good.
WICKET! Shikha c Mooney b Schutt 1 (India 92-7)
What a top catch! Mooney once again, running off the circle at cover running backwards and taking it over her head. They have been so good in the field.
17th over: India 92-6 (Richa 14, Shikha 1) Target 185 The final attendance is 86,174. So, they fall short of breaking the World Record but they have very much filled the MCG tonight. A tremendously positive story. Well done, Melbourne.
WICKET! Deepti c Mooney b Carey 33 (India 88-6)
And it’s Mooney with the catch! Down at long-on, the has to move forward to stick the landing and does precisely that. They’re been excellent in all departments. Nic Carey has had a good tournament and now has a World Cup Final wicket.
16th over: India 88-5 (Deepti 33, Richa 12) Target 185 Jonassen just keeps on keeping on: angling in, turning away. She sums up why these Australian bowlers are so imposing: they’re well-drilled and rarely have a bad day. Meanwhile, I really want one of those giant Beth Mooney heads that I can see in the crowd.
15th over: India 81-5 (Deepti 28, Richa 10) Target 185 Nearly a run out! But the throw needed to be to the non-strikers’ end. Kimmince finishes with 1/17. Superb. Can Australia bowl them out in the final five overs? That’ll be Lanning’s approach.
14th over: India 76-5 (Deepti 25, Richa 8) Target 185 More excellence in the field, this time from Jonassen making a dive-and-flick down at long-off to turn four into two. Deepti takes an even bigger swing at the next Carey offering, a fat outside edge racing away to the rope. Nine of the over. For what little it is worth, India require 18 an over from here - or 109 from 36 deliveries, if you prefer.
13th over: India 67-5 (Deepti 17, Richa 7) Target 185 “There in a nutshell is the difference,” says Harsha Bhogle as Ash Gardner completes a brilliant diving drop on the deep midwicket boundary. Nicely put. “They have lifted their game for the big occasion.” Earlier in the Molineux over, Richa struck a nice drive through cover for four. All good experience for India’s other 16-year-old. As I hinted a couple of overs ago, this is the start of their story not the end. They’ll win trophies soon.
12th over: India 58-5 (Deepti 15, Richa 0) Target 185 Two runs and the wicket from Kimmince’s third over. She’s got a long way to go yet on her international journey.
WICKET! Krishnamurthy c Jonassen b Kimmince 19 (India 58-5)
Top take! Jonassen, running back with the flight at mid off, takes the tough chance above her head. Kimmince gets her name in the book, rewarded again for those changes of pace she is so excellent at executing. I still can’t believe she was on the bench and out of the starting XI through the middle stages of this tournament.
11th over: India 56-4 (Deepti 14, Krishnamurthy 18) Target 185 Shafali Verma is on the TV broadcast with her head hidden inside her shirt behind her hands - gutted. It’s a poor way for her own tournament to end tonight - the dropped catch off Healy in the first over and falling third ball in the chase - but what a time of it she has had. At 16 years of age, she is going to dominate the women’s game for a long time. They will go to New Zealand for the ODI World Cup next year on the second line of favouritism alongside England, only behind Australia in the pecking order.
10th over: India 51-4 (Deepti 13, Krishnamurthy 14) Target 185 Molineux has been such a great addition to this XI during the business end of the tournament. After a tough 12 months where she has missed a lot of cricket through injury, and some time away from the game with a mental health break, she’s back to her best here.
9th over: India 46-4 (Deepti 11, Krishnamurthy 11) Target 185 The Mexican Wave goes around the MCG, another of those famous old traditions at the place after dark; so impressive when it is full to capacity with the top deck following on slightly behind the bottom. Krishnamurthy gets Kimmince away past third man with a well-timed steer but India need three of those an over.
8th over: India 39-4 (Deepti 10, Krishnamurthy 5) Target 185 Carey’s turn; the squeeze continues. Five singles, easy shopping for the Australians. But knowing Meg Lanning, she will be turning her attention to how they can bowl India out from here. With Bhatia retired hurt, they probably need five wickets and the Australian skipper is ruthless like that. It’s part of her charm as a leader.
7th over: India 34-4 (Deepti 9, Krishnamurthy 1) Target 185 Welcome to the accumulation overs of an ill-fated chase. This is a scenario these dominant Australians know so well from their various bilateral series around the world, striking during the power play with the ball then sucking the life out of the opposition once the field goes out. Molineux has 1/7 from her two overs.
“What a wonderfully competitive World Cup,” emails Arun V, looking at the big picture. “No team has been able to breath easy from the first match till the last.”
Spot on. This is a landslide win for Australia but let’s not forget how close the were to not making it here and how close and competitive the comp has been overall.
6th over: India 32-4 (Deepti 8, Krishnamurthy 0) Target 185 Krishnamurthy is a fine player with a cool head but she’s there to finish the innings for India, not rehabilitate it. Six runs and the huge wicket of Harmanpreet to close out the power play; Jonassen has 2/11 so far from her two. India’s required run rate is just on 11.
WICKET! Harmanpreet c Gardner b Jonassen 4 (India 30-4)
In case there as any doubt, that’s absolutely game over. A fine take by Gardner running around at midwicket, taking the catch just inside the rope. Harmanpreet tried to sweep Jonassen but didn’t quite get the contact she needed. The spinner has two wickets and India have lost their four best players inside the power play.
5th over: India 26-3 (Harmanpreet 0, Deepti 7) Target 185 Excellent captaincy from Lanning to get Kimmince on to help the squeeze, her raft of slower balls so difficult to get away when trying to chase quick runs - as India must from here; the required rate is already above 10. It’s an excellent over, going for just three. Harmanpreet is on strike for the final over of the power play. At least Harmanpreet is on strike for it - the captain has only faced three deliveries so far.
4th over: India 23-3 (Harmanpreet 0, Deepti 5) Target 185 Deepti, in at five but essentially No6 with Bhatia having also retired hurt, does nicely to glance a boundary from her first ball. But sure enough, the left-arm tweaker gives her nothing after that. During the week, Molineux talked about going to the MCG to watch her Collingwood football team play along 80-90,000 others. What a joy for her tonight to be part of the action rather than watching in the stands.
WICKET! Mandhana c Carey b Molineux 11 (India 18-3)
Disaster for India! Mandhana miscues Molineux’s first ball into the hands of Carey at mid-off! Lanning gives is BIG in celebration - she knows this is all-but done.
3rd over: India 18-2 (Mandhana 11, Harmanpreet 0) Target 185 It’s not ovestating it to say that this partnership is all that stands between Australia and a fifth World Cup in this format. Mandhana and Harmapreet have barely made a run between them in this competition but they are both proven matchwinners of considerable talent and experience. They know exactly what they need to do. The question is whether they will be given any room to move from these Australian bowlers. Mandhana, having faced just three balls in the first two overs, is now able to take advantage of the field being up with a crisp drive over cover - great timing - then steering a second boundary behind point. That’s an even better shot. It’s a start.
WICKET! Rodrigues c Carey b Jonassen 0 (India 8-2)
A second young gun falls, Rodrigues picking out Carey on the circle at mid-on! Easy as you like. Jonassen is in the book and Australia are all over India.
2nd over: India 8-2 (Mandhana 2) Target 185
Bhatia retires hurt!
Missing a sweep of Jonassen, the No3 is hit on the side of the helmet on the edge of the grille. After talking to the medical staff, she is taken off the field.
1st over: India 3-1 (Mandhana 0, Bhatia 1) Target 185 Oh my, that’s nearly two in the first over! Bhatia miscues to cover, the ball falling just short. But she’s off the mark. This is precisely what Lanning wanted when batting first at the toss: get a decent score then unleash her most accurate bowlers during the power play. Schutt is such a clever bowler, as Nasser notes on TV, dragging her length back to Verma to prompt the error.
WICKET! Shafali c Healy b Schutt 2 (India 2-1)
Gone second ball! After making score after score in this tournament the young superstar opener has edged the third delivery of the chase into the gloves of Healy. Schutt has sorted her out with hoop, the opener trying to steer the swing but nicking instead. She’s gutted. And that’s a great take up to the stumps.
Some wonderful women are in the middle of the MCG, recognised for their contributions to the game. They include the mighty Mithali Raj, who hasn’t retired yet, Karen Rolton, Clare Connor, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Lottie Edwards... the list goes on. Superstars and pioneers, the lot of them. They form a guard of honour for the teams as they return to the field for India’s innings. Here we go! Shafali Verma is already the No1 T20 player in the world at age 16; the youngest player to ever turn out in a World Cup final. She’s facing the first ball of this chase, to be bowled by Megan Schutt. They require 185 to win the World Cup. PLAY!
We’ll talk about that Healy innings for a long time. From the moment she walked out to the middle, with a smile on her face, her intention was clear with three boundaries in the first over. She bettered that after passing 50, clouting three sixes in a row in the 11th over to ensure that Austalia would be finishing with a considerable tally, even after she fell for 74 off 39. Sure enough, Mooney did as she does so consistently, batting through the innings for an unbeaten 78 off 54. But the game isn’t over yet. Not on that surface; not with India’s top four. Stay tuned.
AUSTRALIA FINISH ON 184-4
20th over: Australia 184-4 (Mooney 78, Carey 5) Carey pulls Radha in the air and Rodrigues puts in a huge dive but it isn’t quite enough to drag it in. But that’s the only delivery they manage to properly get away in this final over. Indeed, the innings finishes with a bye when Carey misses everything. Australia have set India a daunting 185 but that’s a fraction short of what they looked on track for.
WICKET! Haynes b Poonam 4 (Australia 176-4)
To the credit of Poonam she’s got out of that over well and picked up a wicket along the way. Earlier, Mooney played her with contempt, smashing a wrong’un through midwicket for four before making it seven off two with a steer. But Haynes, still new at the crease, misjudged her pull shot and chopped on. As Harsha notes on telly, India chased 177 in the tri-series before this World Cup.
19th over: Australia 176-4 (Mooney 76, Carey 0)
18th over: Australia 167-3 (Mooney 68, Haynes 3) Shikha has been punished across her three overs so far tonight and Mooney adds to that pain with an ostentatious boundary... reverse paddling, would you call that? Whatever it was, she beats Bhatia’s gloves with complete control, the ball running away for four. Ten off the over. With 12 balls to go, 190 is still well within touching distance for the hosts.
“Hi, this is Nigam from New Delhi.” Welcom! “My twelve year old daughter says we can still win this game. The optimism of youth startles me.” I salute her. Why would you give up with all this time to go? Keep your head up, Nigam.
WICKET! Gardner st Bhatia b Deepti 2 (Australia 156-3)
Gardner dances at Deepti but misses the straighter one, Bhatia doing the rest behind the stumps. Two wickets in the over for India! And not for nothing, either: it might be the difference between them chasing 200 or 180.
17th over: Australia 157-3 (Mooney 60, Haynes 1)
WICKET! Lanning c Shikha b Deepti 16 (Australia 154-2)
Not that you ever want to see the back of Meg Lanning, but with 22 deliveries to go, I’m pleased to see Gardner walking out there. The skipper is caught at square leg after trying to open up the legside before the ball was bowled. No worries.
16th over: Australia 154-1 (Mooney 60, Lanning 16) Fantastic shot from Mooney to start Radha’s new over, getting down on one knee to sweep with style through the through the air and into the gap at midwidwicket. The spinner pushes the next one through but misses her target, Mooney able to help it around the corner for four more. Easy pickings; beyond 150 they go. Harmanpreet looks stressed.
Mooney to 50!
15th over: Australia 142-1 (Mooney 50, Lanning 14) So consistent, so good: Beth Mooney to her 50 in 41 balls. What more can you ask for in an opener? Michael Clarke says they should get 200 from here and that feels about right. What a lasting memory that would leave for this gigantic crowd. Five overs to go.
14th over: Australia 135-1 (Mooney 48, Lanning 10) Just when India looked like half a chance to applying some pressure on Australia, the captain carves Deepti into the gap for four. What a technician she is. And Mooney follows her in, using her feet as she has so well this tournament, getting to the pitch and striking sweetly for four more over cover. She’s played her role to perfection so far.
13th over: Australia 123-1 (Mooney 41, Lanning 5) Shot, Meg. Lanning is off the mark with a perfectly-positioned sweep off the first ball of Gayakwad final over. The spinner bounces back well though, banking four dots across the next five.
12th over: Australia 117-1 (Mooney 40, Lanning 0) Radha Yadav has been superb for India over the last two years and she’s found the wicket to put the brakes on Australia, if briefly. They have to turn Healy’s wicket into two or three in a hurry. Specifically, they can’t let Mooney bat through the innings, as she does so often.
WICKET! Healy c Krishnamurthy b Radha 75 (Australia 115-1)
The end of a mighty innings, the MCG standing as one in recognition. After blasting five sixes, she couldn’t make it a sixth, holing out to long-on. 75 in 39 balls, supreme short-form batting. No ton, but her job is well and truly done.
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11th over: Australia 114-0 (Healy 75, Mooney 37) SIX MORE! This pair go to their 100 stand with Healy’s third SIX. She doesn’t middle it, just clearing mid-on, but it still reads the same in the book. AND SHE GOES AGAIN! Flatbatting Shika over long-off, there’s nobody stopping that. Goodness me, what tremendous batting this is. AND SIX MORE! THREE IN A ROW! CARNAGE! It’s the best of the night - inside out over cover. “An absolute beauty!” roars Michael Clarke. “That’s as good as you’ll ever see, man or woman.” Australia have one hand on the World Cup.
Australia have one hand on the World Cup inside 11 overs with Healy every chance to smash a stack of records before she's done here. Joyous batting. #T20WorldCup
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) March 8, 2020
Healy to 50!
10th over: Australia 91-0 (Healy 57, Mooney 32) Mitch Starc lit up the MCG on World Cup Final day in 2015 and it his wife, Alyssa Healy, is doing precisely the same tonight! She’s to her half-century with her seventh four - straight back over Radha’s head - to go with two sixes, reaching the mark in just 30 balls. What a performance, with enough time to double it and get to 100. India are reeling.
9th over: Australia 79-0 (Healy 49, Mooney 29) Nine off Poonam’s second over - they’re not letting her settle here. It’s Mooney taking the authority this time around, getting to the pitch and depositing her over mid-on. There’s only one way for India to control the carnage here: wickets, two of them, immediately.
8th over: Australia 70-0 (Healy 47, Mooney 23) So much for accumulation! Healy goes BANG, BANG! Gayakwad ended the power play well for India so the Australian opener responds by popping her into the crowd, 83 metres over long-on! The biggest SIX of the competition! And does it again next up, albeit not quite as clean a hit, but sufficient to get over the rope. 16 off the over. She’s 47 from 27.
7th over: Australia 54-0 (Healy 32, Mooney 22) We saw Amelia Kerr crack the code with Poonam’s slow, loopy leg spin in the group stage - making room, shovelling over fine leg. Will Healy do something similar? Not initially - they exchange singles to the sweepers on the off-side. She’s landed her first two wrong’uns of the night, which was the delivery that picked up three Australian wickets in Sydney to begin the competition. Five singles are their lot here - no risks, no worries.
This is a very big crowd for the @T20WorldCup Final @MCG. I reckon we’re going to go very very close. C’mon Aussies and c’mon Victoria. Get down here pic.twitter.com/YtxTM2ImCt
— Martin Pakula (@MartinPakulaMP) March 8, 2020
6th over: Australia 49-0 (Healy 28, Mooney 18) To the credit of Gayakwad, she’s got India out of that power play nicely - just two singles. So, Australia are off to a flyer, no doubt. But they get Poonam Yadav on having pegged it back just a bit.
I was once told a great yarn about how the MCC made sure the 2008 Grand Final had 100,000 (100,008 to be precise) in there for it. I fully support them getting equally creative tonight if landing close to the magic mark of 90,185. #T20WorldCup
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) March 8, 2020
5th over: Australia 47-0 (Healy 28, Mooney 18) Beth’s turn! She ends Shikha’s second over with back to back boundaries, steering past third man then hammering off the back foot through extra cover. Supreme timing.
4th over: Australia 37-0 (Healy 28, Mooney 9) Having had to fight so hard to make it onto this stage, Australia look liberated - batting with such freedom, Mooney to the pitch of Gayakwad, driving over cover for four. BUT SHE’S DROPPED NEXT BALL! Beaten in flight, she gives a chance to the spinner, put down low in her follow through. It’s not an easy catch, but still - both openers have been put down. Nerves everywhere. “This is wild here,” Geoff Lemon tells me. “It is heaving.”
3rd over: Australia 32-0 (Healy 28, Mooney 4) Deepti for her second, Healy lifting her over midwicket for a couple. She is flying, no doubt, but not middling everything. But she won’t mind too much given we’re in this power play with the field out. Mooney takes the alternative approach from the penultimate delivery, taking a clever quick single into the off-side. Super batting. Back to Healy to finish who helps a poor delivery on its way down the legside for her sixth boundary.
2nd over: Australia 23-0 (Healy 21, Mooney 2) Shikha Pandey, who has been so good in this tournament, in from the Great Southern Stand End. Mooney gives the strike staight back to Healy, who is straight onto the front foot once more, smashing the seamer straight back over her head for four. With that, Healy goes beyond 2000 T20I runs. And again later in the over, carving over cover for a fifth boundary in nine balls - she’s already into the 20s. India need to settle.
1st over: Australia 14-0 (Healy 13, Mooney 1) “A wonderful moment for the game,” declares Ian Bishop as Deepti Sharma starts her approach. And it’s a full toss to begin, given the treatment by Healy through midwicket - a boundary first ball. Nerves there, no doubt. She’s too full again second up but the opener is happy to ease a single to mid-on. Mooney’s turn and it’s a third full toss to start - once again bunted down to mid-on, getting her off the mark. Shot! Deepti lands her off-break but it is far enough outside the off-stump for Healy to steer magnificently behind point, bisecting the two fielders on the circle. DROPPED AT COVER! Shafali Verma, the youngest player to ever turn out in a World Cup Final, has put Healy down at cover from the fifth ball! Ohhh, it’s an easy chance too - it is all happening at the MCG! Sure enough, Healy takes full advantage: hammering a half-volley through cover to complete the set. Three boundaries and the dropped catch to start, then. I strongly suggest that, in addition to sticking with me, you find a television.
Out walk Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney to open for Australia. WHAT A ROAR! We saw firewords in the first over of the previous World Cup Final held at the MCG five years ago, what India would give for a start like that here tonight. It’ll be the off-spinner Deepti Sharma given the first over, from the Members’ End. PLAY!
The camera stops on Ellyse Perry. Proudly singing the national anthem with the team, retained in the squad despite suffering a tournament-ending hamstring injury. They know how important she is to be around the team. An email in from Abhijato Sensarma (you can send me one too): “Wishing a Happy Women’s Day and best of luck to all the players and fans involved in this game. No matter what happens on the field today, let us hope that cricket is the winner. No matter who crosses the finishing line, let us hope that we have a match for the ages. And no matter who lifts the trophy, let us hope that we’ll be glad for being here today.”
Them: “There’s simply no interest in women’s sport/cricket - it’s not commercially viable...”
— Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E) March 8, 2020
🧐 #T20WorldCupFinal pic.twitter.com/CxZDkfEcL9
Out walk the players for the anthems. The MGC erupts in that familiar way.
No words pic.twitter.com/uRDTLEBKDE
— Australian Women's Cricket Team 🏏 (@AusWomenCricket) March 8, 2020
“It shouldn’t feel so revolutionary,” writes JP Howcroft at Guardian HQ. “But it is.” Perfectly put. And consider the implications for the women’s game in India, too. Their World Cup run in 2017 just about got a Women’s Indian Premier League over the line. If they can get the job done tonight, there’s little doubt it’ll happen.
Scenes #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/kyg6OKpmha
— Gerard Whateley (@GerardWhateley) March 8, 2020
These are going to be iconic MCG images. Perry, now into Firework, is on the middle of a purple stage, in a purple dress with hundreds of young girls in purple outfits dancing in front of her. They’ve truly nailed this. I was at the World Cup Final in Antigua two years ago and they belted out the tournament song before getting on with it. It’s hard not to get swept up in the emotion of this. To think how far women’s cricket has come in just the five years I’ve been covering it.
Katy Perry is walking out to the middle
Billy Jean-King is on fronting a montage on the telly. “We are women,” she declares... and out walks Katy Perry, flanked by a group of backup dancers dressed as cricket bats. She begins with Roar. This is so good.
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“I’m a little bit emotional,” says Alyssa Healy on the TV coverage. “To see all these people celebrating International Women’s Day is very special.” There’s something special too about being underneath the MCG knowing there are the better part of 100,000 people up above you ready to watch. You often hear footballers reflect on that when playing Grand Finals at the ground. The difference there is that those players are conditioned to playing in front of tens of thousands of people every week. That’s not the case in this occasion; this is radically different to the norm.
“You need to use it,” says Lisa Sthalekar about the gigantic crowd. “If you feel that pressure it shows you can. But you have to try and find a way to stay calm.”
Of course, as Anjum Chopra adds, India did play in the Lord’s World Cup Final in 2017. I was there that day (on the OBO, as it happens) and it is reflected upon often what a landmark day it was. The women in blue did not hold their nerve on that occasion, losing six wickets in a hurry to fall just short. Can they draw on that experience today? Has Harmanpreet saved her magical best for tonight?
Interesting call batting first. Meg Lanning elected to bowl when India knocked them off in the opening game of this tournament. Then, it was Poonam Yadav ripping the home side apart, the 4’11” leggie claiming four scalps. Well, the home side won’t experience a nervous chase tonight, instead backing their batters to mount a big enough tally on a flat track to later squeeze their less experienced opponents with the ball when the flootlights take over. Makes sense to me.
India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Veda Krishnamurthy, Deepti Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
Australia: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (c), Jess Jonassen, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Delissa Kimmince, Megan Schutt.
India are also unchanged from their final group game
Harmanpreet Kaur says her mum is in the stands. It is the Indian captain’s birthday today, turning 31. She debuted at the inaugual edition of this tournament back in 2009 and tonight leads her side to a second global final in three year.
Australia win the toss and elect to bat!
They are unchanged from their semi-final win. “We are as ready as we can be. We are going to have to play our best game.” She can’t believe the crowd.
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Who will hold their nerve on this enormous stage? We aren’t far away from the toss, brought forward by ten minutes for the Katy Perry pre-game show.
The last time Australia hosted a women's World Cup, just 2,300 turned up to watch the final. That was only 11 years ago. Tonight there will be about 40 times that at the MCG. #T20WorldCup
— Scott Bailey (@ScottBaileyAAP) March 8, 2020
The previous World Record is 90,185. That’s the mark for the biggest women’s sporting event of all time, from the football World Cup Final of 1999 in California. Don’t doubt the determination of Melbourne’s sporting public to top that tonight. And if you’re at home wondering if there is still room there is. Additional standing room tickets were released today. Part of what makes the MCG so special are the standing room bays, so don’t let that dissuade you. I’m experiencing some pretty fierce FOMO from the other side of the world, make no mistake. If you are in the ‘G, drop me a line and tell me what you’ve seen on the way in. Tell us your story.
Welcome to the World Cup Final!
When it was announced last year that the aim was to fill the MCG for this global decider, the response surprised me: it was generally accepted that this was a perfectly reasonable objective and one that would be achieved. Especially if Australia made it. Compare that to three years ago when the goal to pack out Lord’s was put out there the ODI World Cup and it was laughed at it some quarters. As history shows, HQ was at capacity that day and the wonderful word from Melbourne this evening is that the World Record is every chance to go tonight.
Talk about a big three years - indeed, a massive five years - for the women’s game around the world. The promise of the massive investment had been realised long before now but this International Women’s Day moment truly is something else. And it’s the dream final for tournament organisers too, the hosts and defending champions up against their nemesis India. Everything about this is huge.
Stick with the OBO as we preview the match while keeping an eye on what I am certain will be a spectauclar pre-game show with Katy Perry. Buckle up!
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