History hangs heavy on England as old hands in dark green triumph again

The DJ sensed the writing on the wall by the end of Australia’s powerplay. The melancholy strains of Adele warbled around Lord’s as Phoebe Litchfield and Beth Mooney swigged their drinks. The scoreboard read 62 for one. Only yesterday was the time of our lives.

- Tanya Aldred

English cricket had wanted to go where the Red Roses and the Lionesses rampaged in 2025. And they did nearly everything right in the buildup. It’s just that no one told the ruthless opposition, who won the toss and said “have a bat”.

The figures in dark green patrolled the lime-striped London grass as if it was their own. Even their shadows folded obediently under their gimlet boots.

If England had eased through to the final undefeated and largely untested, they knew they were going to have their work cut out when Amy Jones got an inside edge down to fine leg to the second ball of the day. Litchfield and Georgia Wareham harried to the boundary boards at full pelt and threw themselves down. They didn’t stop the four but the intention was there in bold green and gold capitals.

England were on edge, stalling through the early overs, stuck between momentum and caution. In the stands, the crowd were nervy too. History hung heavy. England had won this trophy once, in 2009, when today’s coach Charlotte Edwards was a young captain. Australia were old hands - champions in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020 and 2023. In T20 World Cup finals between the two, Australia held a 3-0 advantage. As England crawled along, the crowd seemed unclear exactly how they were supposed to react. Was this enough? It seemed unlikely.