Ahead of the T20 World Cup final, Sophie Ecclestone declared England did not fear Australia.
“They’re a great team but we’re also a great team and we’ve proved how good we are over the last few weeks,” Ecclestone told the ICC following their semi-final win over Australia.
The spinner’s words summed up the confidence within the current England squad, who like Australia will go into the final at Lord’s unbeaten and largely untroubled through the group stage and final.
England have come a long way from the side that crumbled to an unprecedented 16-0 multi-format Ashes defeat less than 18 months ago.
Nat Sciver-Brunt has taken over the captaincy from Heather Knight, and they have a new coach in Charlotte Edwards, who has brought with her a more intense focus on fielding and fitness standards – addressing two of the major issues England were criticised for in Australia.
Edwards, a legend of English cricket, also knows how to win major tournaments having lifted the trophy at Lord’s when England won the inaugural women’s T20 World Cup 17 years ago.
It was telling that when England cruised through their semi-final against South Africa on Thursday, possibly the most maligned player from the Ashes disaster, Sophie Ecclestone, took an athletic leaping catch to remove the Proteas captain Laura Wolvaardt.
And when England’s batting was wobbling at 3-29 inside the Powerplay, they did not fall apart under pressure with Sciver-Brunt and Knight guiding their team to a total that proved to be more than enough.
“Lottie coming in after the Ashes where we were pretty poor (at fielding) … it’s obviously something that we wanted to work on as a team and have commitment from everybody to do that,” Sciver-Brunt said.
“Throughout this tournament we’ve done so well, so in a game, when everything’s on the line, for that to stand up has been really cool to see … to be able to change the game in the field is so important.
“I think where we are now is, I think, a much more sort of composed and confident team (than the last T20 World Cup).
“We have been put under pressure and been able to come out the other side – our batting coach calls it nitty-gritty moments, and there are those in every game that we play.
“So far in this one we’ve shown that we can get through those moments and come out the other side.”
Whoever prevails on Sunday will create history.
England have won every tournament they have played on home soil across both white-ball formats, but equally, have never defeated Australia in a World Cup final and their last knockout win against Australia was the 2009 T20 World Cup semi-final.
Both teams have undergone significant changes since the 2025 Ashes, like England, Australia have a new captain in Sophie Molineux and for the first time since 2009 have gone into a global tournament without Alyssa Healy in their ranks.
Both teams have insisted last year’s Ashes are in the past, and Sunday’s final is a clean slate for the rivalry.
“Our team has come quite a long way since that Ashes tour,” Sciver-Brunt said.
“We’re playing in a World Cup final at home at Lord’s … the occasion is already massive, and we’re playing Australia.
“There’s not really been any talk about the Ashes or trying to prove people wrong from that.
“We’ve done a lot of hard work since that tour to show where we are as a group, so we haven’t really spoken about that.
“Every time we come up against Australia, it’s going to be a tough battle … we’re under no illusion that it’s going to be a really tough game tomorrow against Australia – finals like that don’t come around that often so we’ll be relishing the challenge.”
While England will not want to revisit any memories from that tour, they may reflect on their success against Australia at home during the 2023 edition, when they defeated them in back-to-back T20Is at The Oval and Lord’s.
Outside of the Ashes rivalry, England are also eyeing the opportunity to create a legacy as home World Cup winners.
Lifting the trophy would see them join the ranks of back-to-back UEFA European Women’s Championship winners the Lionesses, and the Red Roses, who won the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
“We’ve got a chance to be part of that movement of women’s sport in the country,” Sciver-Brunt said.
“I’m trying to stay really present and think about the things that are in front of me rather than anything too far away (but) hopefully I can get a chance in the next few days after tomorrow to really reflect on what has been an amazing tournament.
“We’ve been living in our bubble as a team together and not letting anyone stray out of that but I think once we finish the tournament and reflect over the next few weeks, we can hopefully see how much and how far we’ve come and what it’s meant to people watching in the country.”
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026
Australia squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham. Travelling reserve: Tahlia Wilson
Australia’s fixtures
June 13: beat South Africa by 65 runs
June 17: beat Bangladesh by nine wickets
June 20: beat Netherlands by 98 runs
June 24: beat Pakistan by 113 runs
June 28: beat India by six wickets
Semi-final 1: Australia beat West Indies by eight wickets
(Semi-final 2: England beat South Africa by 40 runs)
Final: v England at Lord’s, London, July 5 (12:30am July 6 AEST)
Click here for the full tournament schedule
All matches will be broadcast on Amazon’s Prime Video
