Belief back as England brace for their biggest game since 2017
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- England women face Australia in Sunday's T20 World Cup final at a sold-out Lord's, their first World Cup final in four years and biggest match since 2017, with kick-off before 1am UK time.
- Charlotte Edwards, dropped by England a year before their 2017 World Cup win, has engineered an eight-match winning streak as head coach after last year's 16-0 Ashes defeat and a group-stage exit at the previous T20 World Cup.
- Australia arrive as favourites, having played 10 World Cup finals since 2000 and lost only one — England have not beaten them in any of their five World Cup knockout meetings since the 2009 World T20 semi-final.
- Danni Wyatt-Hodge is the tournament's leading run-scorer, while captain Nat Sciver-Brunt has returned from a calf injury that kept her out of three group-stage games.
- The turnaround began six weeks ago when Freya Kemp smashed 39 off 13 balls against India in Bristol to rescue a win while England were 1-0 down in the series.
- Ellyse Perry appears to be winning her race to be fit for Australia, and captain Sophie Molineux said her side 'haven't mentioned the Ashes too much' despite a brief review of footage from the series.
Why it matters: A win gives Charlotte Edwards — dropped before England's 2017 title — a coaching triumph at Lord's and validates the rebuild after the 16-0 Ashes. For Australia, it would extend a finals record (10 played since 2000, one lost) that has defined the era.
