Australia to bowl first in WT20 final

Australia will bowl first in the World T20 final after England captain Heather Knight won the toss at Antigua’s Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

Australia have named an unchanged XI from the side that claimed a 71-run semi-final win over the West Indies for the tournament decider, while England are also unchanged after cruising to an eight-wicket win over India on Thursday.

LIVE SCORES: Australia v England, WT20 Final

Meg Lanning’s team are out to claim their first major ICC trophy since 2014, with the rivalry and long history between the Ashes foes to add extra spice to the encounter.

Despite being ranked No.1 in both limited-overs formats Australia don't currently hold a global trophy, after finishing runners-up in the most recent World T20 in 2016 and being knocked out of the one-day World Cup at the semi-final stage last year.

It's been a rare dry spell for an Australian team who won three World T20 titles in 2010, 2012 and 2014 as well as a 50-over title in 2013.

"We're really excited," Lanning said in Antigua on the eve of the final. "We feel like we played well (in the semi-final).

"We came here to play off in this final. We've given ourselves the opportunity now to win, and coming up against England, always great games.

"We know it's going to be extremely tough.

"The group's really been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time, and we just can't wait to get out there."

Australia defeated England in the final of a T20 tri-series in Mumbai in March this year, but it was England who had the better of Lanning's team during the 20-over leg of last summer's Ashes, winning 2-1 to deny the hosts an outright series win.

"I think you can't really ignore that it's the old enemy, can you?" England captain Heather Knight said.

"It's probably the two best teams in the world historically over the last few years, and we've had some amazing games of cricket recently.

"We had the Ashes series we drew out in Australia and a really good sort of T20 series out there for us, where we won 2-1, and the game to finish off the series was a real thriller.

"History suggests it's going to be a really good game, really tight game.

"We're going to have to be at the top of our game, the Australians look really strong and they've played some really great cricket this tournament."

When, where and how to watch

World No.1 Australia will be chasing their fourth World T20 title when they meet second-ranked England in the tournament decider at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium from 8pm Saturday local time (11am Sunday, AEDT).

The match will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and the Nine Network's GEM channel, with live scores on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.

The squads

Australia: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

England:  Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Tash Farrant, Kirstie Gordon, Jenny Gunn, Dani Hazell, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver, Linsey Smith, Anya Shrubsole, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danni Wyatt

The last time they met

Australia were triumphant in the last T20 meeting between the teams, a tri-series decider in Mumbai in March. On that occasion, a 45-ball 88no from Meg Lanning and a half-century from Elyse Villani lifted Australia to 4-209 – the highest ever total in a women’s T20I at the time – before holding England to 9-152. But there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since, not least of all when England set a new high-water mark when they scored 3-250 against South Africa in June, and this looms as another tight contest between two in-form teams.

The grudge match

It’s Australia v England, the oldest of foes, and Ashes rivals. The weight of history is heavy between these teams and while England are the reigning one-day World Cup champions, it’s Australia who’s had the better of the two in recent tournament deciders. The Southern Stars defeated England in the 2012 and 2014 World T20 finals, while they knocked England out of the semi-finals in 2016.

In 2012, there was a thrilling finale with England needing 16 runs from the final over. But Australian off-spinner Erin Osborne ultimately held her nerve to secure a four-run victory.

Then in 2014, Australia restricted England to 8-105, before Lanning’s rapid 44 and Ellyse Perry's unbeaten 31 saw their team home with 4.5 overs to spare.

The rankings

Australia: 1

England: 2

The road to finals (most recent first)

Australia: WLWWW

England: WLWWNR

The players to watch

Alyssa Healy: Not even a brush with concussion in the final group game against India could throw Healy off course. She recovered in time to take her place in Australia’s XI for the semi-final against the Windies and produced yet another player-of-the-match performance – her fourth from five matches. Her 38-ball 46 in that game followed knocks of 48 from 29 against Pakistan, and a record fastest World T20 half-century against Ireland, and a 38-ball 53 against New Zealand.

Meg Lanning: The Australian captain has yet to fully fire in this tournament. She struck a speedy 41 in the opening match before posting scores of 5 and 10 against New Zealand and India. Lanning was made to work hard for her 31 from 39 in the semi-final against West Indies, but she fought through a difficult period to anchor her team’s innings. The 26-year-old is never long between big knocks and she’s definitely due.

Georgia Wareham: The teenage leg-spinner is playing in her first World T20 but has already shown she has the composure to take on the game’s biggest hitting batters. Touted as the ‘X-factor’ with a knack of creating a breakthrough when needed, Wareham’s athleticism in the field and sharp fielding skills are another major asset.

Danielle Wyatt: The England opener scored a century against Australia during the T20 leg of the Ashes last Australian summer and she’ll be eager to go big again against her rivals. While Wyatt hasn’t set the world alight this tournament with scores of 0, 27, 1 and 8, she’ll be determined to make amends on the biggest stage of all come Saturday.

Anya Shrubsole: The England quick made the most of the tough batting conditions in St Lucia, picking up seven wickets in three matches including a hat-trick against South Africa. Almost as impressive were her efforts with the bat against West Indies – coming in at 6-50, she struck 29 in partnership with Sophia Dunkley to help England to 115. She didn’t pick up any wickets in the semi-final against India, but her skill in the power play will make for a very interesting battle with the in-form Healy.

Kirstie Gordon: Scottish-born left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon hadn’t even made her England debut when she arrived in the Caribbean but she’s currently sitting second on the wicket-takers list heading into the final. The 21-year-old has eight wickets at 8.50 from four matches with figures of 3-16, 2-18, 1-14 and 2-20.

Overall head to head 

Australia 13, England 17

World T20 titles 

Australia 3, England 1

2018 ICC Women's World T20  

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

November 9: Australia beat Pakistan by 52 runs

November 11: Australia beat Ireland by nine wickets

November 13: Australia beat New Zealand by 33 runs

November 17: Australia lost to India by 48 runs

November 22: Semi-final: Australia beat West Indies by 71 runs

November 24: Final: Australia v England, Sir Vivian Richards Ground