Southern Stars win World T20 Final

While it’s dark times for the Wallabies and Australian men’s cricket, the Southern Stars have provided a sorely needed bright spot.

Ellyse Perry, right, and Meg Lanning celebrate the dismissal of Deandra Dottin of the West Indies. Picture: AFP

Meg Lanning produced a crucial bit of captaincy.

She batted with the calmness Australia was crying out for in an otherwise jittery performance. The skipper’s fingerprints were all over the Southern Stars’ victory in the WorldT20 final.

On a day the Wallabies slumped to a 109-year low and a barely recognisable Australian men’s cricket team was to be paraded on the SCG, Lanning, teenage spinner Georgie Wareham and

all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner produced pivotal performances to help overcome a disastrous start and give Australian sport a much-needed injection of positivity by beating old enemy

England at Antigua by eight wickets.

Two years ago, a devastated Lanning had to be helped to her feet by Ellyse Perry after Australia’s shock loss to the West Indies. It was a different story, and photograph, today. She hit the winnings runs.

Bowling first, the Australians dropped four catches, conceded overthrows, missed run outs

and fluffed a host of regulation fielding attempts as England cobbled together a total of 105.

Thankfully for the Australians, the bowling was superb, led by 19-year-old leg-spinner

Wareham’s 2-11, 21-year-old offspinner Ash Gardner’s 3-22 and seamer Megan Schutt’s 2-13.

It was an unusually anxious display in the field saved by a moment of brilliance from Wareham and a crucial bit of captaincy from Meg Lanning.

Megan Schutt of Australia, left, celebrates with teammates. Picture: AAP

To start at the start … Wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy spilled a routine chance early in the

innings. The Australians became on edge. Anxious. Then Healy missed a prime opportunity to run out England captain Heather Knight. Standing in front of the stumps rather than behind them, Healy declined (and was out of position) to take a throw at the stumps.

Knight scrambled home. Replays showed Healy had time to execute the run out if she’d been in the correct position to take the ball herself. A mid-innings missed stumping rounded off a regrettable night behind the stumps from Healy. Boundaries were conceded from misfields.

Throws were wildly wide of the stumps. The tension was palpable in the winner-takes-all match. The saviour was Wareham, a 19-year-old from Victoria. From mid-on, Wareham cleanly picked up a drive from Amy Jones on the run, threw in the same motion and made a superb direct hit to send Jones on her way for four. The young leg-spinner was on a hat-trick during her clinical bowling spell. The first of her wickets was thanks to Lanning.

Lauren Winfield played back to Wareham and squeezed the ball to the off side. No appeal from the Australians, just an, “Aw!” from Healy. But Lanning suspected the ball had clipped

Winfield’s front pad. she motioned for a video review when no-one else seemed interested. It

was out.

England opener Danielle Wyatt made the most of three reprieves to post 43. Healy’s

contribution with the bat was going to be crucial. The totable was moderate and a fast start would ease any further nerves. Two losses to England in one day would have been too much to bear. The Wallabies’ 37-18 defeat at Twickenham was the first time in 109 years they’d lost straight Tests to England. With Australia’s men’s T20 team to play India at the SCG today baring little resemblance to a full- strength Australian side, the Southern Stars were the most legitimate team on display.

Healy made a quickfire 22 from 20 balls in her lowest score of the tournament. It was a decent start to the run chase without being a blinding one. Lanning guided the Australians home with a composed knock of 28 as Gardner hit three sixes in her innings of 33.