Australia will go into Sunday’s final of the 8th Women’s Cricket World Cup as favourites to win a fifth title. The Australians who will be playing in their fifth final out of the six held since finals were introduced in 1982, retained their unbeaten record in the tournament when they beat England by 5 wickets in the first semi final on Tuesday.Runners-up to England in the inaugural World Cup in 1973 when the title went to the first-placed team on the points ladder, Australia won the 1978 World Cup held along similar lines. Australia won the first two World Cup finals in 1982 and 1988.
They failed to qualify for the 1993 final when England beat New Zealand, but then regained the Sir Jack Hayward Trophy in India in 1997.
In 2000, Australia were narrowly beaten by New Zealand in Christchurch. Captain Belinda Clark and fast bowler Cathryn Fitzpatrick are playing in their fourth World Cup, and will be appearing in a third final.
India will be playing in their first ever World Cup Final having beaten New Zealand by 40 runs in the second semi final on Thursday. India suffered one loss in the round robin phase when they went down to New Zealand by five wickets. Left handed opener Anjum Chopra is the most experienced player in the Indian squad with 70 ODI caps.
Indian captain Mithali Raj’s brilliant innings of 91 not out in the semi final has lifted her to the top of the tournament averages. England opener Charlotte Edwards is the leading run scorer, while Indian left arm spinner Neetu David is the leading wicket taker with 19 wickets at just 6.73.
Sunday’s final will start at 10am and entrance to SuperSport Park is R20.
WCWC FINAL SQUADS:
Australia:
Belinda Clark (Capt), Karen Rolton (V-Capt), Alex Blackwell, Kate Blackwell, Louise Broadfoot, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Julie Hayes, Melanie Jones, Lisa Keightley, Shelley Nitschke, Julia Price (w/k), Clea Smith, Lisa Sthalekar, Emma Liddell.
Manager: Claire Connolly
Coach: Steve Jenkin
Assistant Coach: Barry Neivandt
Physiotherapist: Lisa Ross
Fitness Trainer: Sally Bailey
India:
Mithali Raj (Capt), Jaya Sharma, Hemlata Kala, Neetu David, Nooshin Al Khadeer, Amita Sharma, Deepa Marathe, Rumeli Dhar, Arundhati Kirkire, Anju Jain (w/k), Jhulan Goswami, Anjum Chopra, Karuna Jain, Reema Malhotra.
Manager: Trupti Battacharya
Coach: Sudha Shah
Fitness Trainer: Shri. K.R. Shivkumar
Physiotherapist: Dr. C. Shiv Shankar
Match Officials:
Umpires: Shaun George and Zed Ndamane
TV Umpire: Walter Liebisch
4th Umpire: Dennis Smith
Match Referee: Cyril Mitchley.
Live telecast in Australia of World Cup Final
Cricket Australia have announced today that the Women’s Cricket World Cup final will be televised live on pay-TV in Australia on Sunday.
The game, between Australia and India, will be shown on the Main Event channel on Foxtel, Optus and Austar from 6pm on Sunday April 10. While Main Event is normally a pay-per-view channel, the telecast of the final will be available to all existing Foxtel, Optus and Austar subscribers for no additional charge.