Australia and England name unchanged XIs with the T20 World Cup trophy on the line
Australia will bowl first against England in the T20 World Cup final at Lord’s, with Ellyse Perry passed fit to take her place in the XI.
Sophie Molineux called correctly at the toss and elected to chase, with Australia hoping to win their seventh T20 World Cup title.
Australia XI: Beth Mooney (wk), Georgia Voll, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux (c), Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton
England XI: Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Dani Gibson, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt said she too would have bowled first, but was content to get runs on the board in a final.
Perry, who retired hurt after facing seven deliveries against the West Indies reporting quad ‘awareness’, has been cleared to play, with both Australia and England naming unchanged sides.
Perry’s decision to retire hurt in the semi-final was always understood to be largely precautionary, and she got through two training sessions leading into the final, batting and bowling in the nets.
On Saturday, Molineux said it would be a bonus if Perry was available to bowl but not essential.
“I think it’s been an incredible tournament so far for this group,” Molineux told reporters at Lord’s on Saturday.
“Whatever happens tomorrow happens, we’re going to walk away really proud of the type of cricket we’ve played over the last few weeks.
“The girls have played with freedom, they’ve been brave, and I think we’ve played in a really amazing team game of cricket.
“We can take so many positives away from this tournament.
“I think if we win tomorrow, there might be a chance to be able to sit back and reflect, but we’ve still got a job to do – playing our best game of cricket.”
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
