Shrubsole six-for snatches World Cup for England
A six-wicket haul from Anya Shrubsole won England their fourth World Cup after a thrilling final at Lord's
A six-wicket haul from Anya Shrubsole won England their fourth World Cup after a thrilling final at Lord's
Commentator: Shashank Kishore
Sriram Sullia sums it up: "You play like a girl" - Finest compliment from this day forward!" Hope you enjoyed the coverage as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. Until next time, I say goodbye on behalf of my colleague Alan Gardner. Cheers, peeps
The passing of the baton has been done. Debbie Hockley accepts it from ECB. New Zealand will host the next edition in 2021. For now, Knight joins the rest of the team as they lift the World Cup trophy. What scenes. Perfect setting to script a fairytale
Heather Knight, the victorious England captain: "I can't stop smiling. The girls have been outstanding. We've made it hard for ourselves, but we've won some tight games. All that we've done in the last 18 months was to deal with situations where the heat was on. Anya Shrubsole, what a hero. What a day! They were batting brilliantly. Punam was superb, they got a few partnerships. The girls really held their nerve, apart from the drop of Jenny Gunn which was stressful. Thanks to everyone for their support. Credit to the ECB and ICC."
Anantha: "A long time ago, as a ninth grader - warming up for a running race at school, a girl senior of mine told me about a certain Mithali Raj, a woman cricketer playing for India. I had never heard of her before - or of any other women cricketers. My friend ran the race that day, an injury to her leg, her determination inspiring us all. She wanted to be like Mithali Raj. I have not forgotten that race. I have not forgotten Mithali Raj."
Mithali Raj: Yes, I'm proud. It wasn't easy for England but credit to them for keeping their nerve. There was a time where the match was in the balance, but we panicked. I'm very proud of the girls. They didn't make any match look easy for the other team. Thank you to the crowd for turning up for a Women's cricket final. This is a huge boost for all the women cricketers. Jhulan is an experienced bowler and has always delivered when the team has needed her to. It could've been a match-winning performance, but I knew England have depth. All the youngsters tried their best, I'm sure this experience will help them. Now, people back home will have a different perspective about women's cricket
Dave: "Fantastic! What drama! Not sure how they did it but brilliant, just brilliant! Well done ladies! What a win! And what a final! Great advert for women's cricket at a packed Lords! England: World Cup winners! Yes!!" Go out, celebrate.
Mithali confirms: I will definitely play for a couple of years more, but I don't see myself playing the next World Cup.
All the India players walk up to collect their runners-up medals. All of them are, understandably, heart broken. The crowd applauds, however. Great to see the kind of support they've enjoyed. Fans have come in for all their games, right through the tournament.
Tammy Beaumont, who went past 400 runs in the tournament, has been named Player of the Series. "Robbo (the coach) had to remind me that I've been doing well. So many of the girls stood up. It's been a great team performance. Myself and Lauren got off to a good start but we thought we threw it away. But our batting order has been superb. Jenny Gunn and Katherine Brunt were excellent. Full credit to Raut and Kaur, they put on an exceptional partnership. In my head it was never in doubt, we knew one wicket could change things. It was back in April that we all came here to the Lord's tour. Lot of hard work went into it, all for just this moment.
If you're just joining us, here's Karthik Krishnaswamy with his match bulletin
Anya Shrubsole, is the Player of the Match for her six-wicket haul. Hall of famer and a pioneer of Women's cricket Enid Bakewell presents her the award "I'm a little bit lost for words, if I'm honest," she says. "Just an unbelievable game, it looked for a minute like we were out of it but one of the great things about this team is we never give up, Alex Hartley got that vital wicket of Harmanpreet and we never looked back from there. It's more that you don't want the game to be ruined by rain, it was just an amazing game from start to finish and I think it's a very fitting final for what's been a brilliant World Cup. It's a WC final, there's a huge amount of pressure, so much pressure on new batters coming in. We never let the run rate get away from us, even though we weren't getting wickets, so we knew if we got a couple we'd be right in the game. [Twitter pic] Absolutely not, it's a dream and a dream you never think is going to come true. Here watching my dad play in the club national knockouts, so to be back 16 years later as a World Cup winner is just amazing."
Spare a thought for MithalI Raj and Jhulan Goswami. This was their last World Cup game, but there's no crowning glory. Such is sport, but what the Indian team has achieved has been tremendous. This will be a big, big boost to young players coming through, motivate them to greater heights. Pinch yourself and let this sink in: They beat England, Australia, New Zealand- three big teams en route the final. Now for them to build forward from here. Credit to the support staff as well. They can walk away with their heads held high.
Kunal: "Well done England. Really well done. Take a bow, Anya Shrubsole. India, don't lose heart, you've played really well, and I hope to see you winning it in four years time. You can do it. Mithali, Jhulan, Veda, Harmanpreet, Punam, Smriti, Shikha, Ekta, Sushma, Rajeshwari, Poonam and everyone else have stepped up at one point of the other. They'll grow. And learn, and come off better for it."
Sarah Taylor: Probably there couldn't have been a better comeback. Proud of the girls, it's been a roller coaster year for me, but to be part of this team is simply incredible. For me, it was a case of being healthy and see how I go, I was just lucky to be here for the World Cup. India played exceptionally well. Good luck to them in the future. Heather Knight's such a calm character.
England coach Mark Robinson: India played really well, but I'm so proud of the girls. We knew we were 30 light, but we knew we were always in the game. It was a fighting score. This team has a lot of heart. The game's been incredibly backed by the ICC. What an atmosphere today. I really enjoyed every minute of it. The girls have been really well behaved this trip, there's going to be some celebration tonight.
Jenny Gunn: It's brilliant to be here at Home of Cricket, in front of family and friends. This is one of the best teams I've played with.
Alex Hartley: I can't believe it. This is what we've been working for. It's a dream come true for all of us. I've never stepped onto Lord's before in a game. Absolutely fantastic that we managed to pull it off. Anya Shrubsole, what a hero.
Fran Wilson: We knew we'd be able to pull through. We've done it before. Credit to Anya. I can't tell you what was going through my head. Past experiences plus knowing 20,000 people behind you kept us calm. It was amazing, an incredible experience. I can't imagine life after the World Cup.
Laura Marsh: Think I bowled okay, but the way Anya bowled was fantastic. I think in a final, every runs' really important. We always knew we're right in the game. Simply brilliant.
5.40pm Heartbreak for India. How did it get here? I don't think anyone in the India camp know what hit them. They were cruising at 191 for 3. Then Shrubsole came in and nipped out wickets in a hurry as England have created magic. What a stunning endorsement for the tournament. What a sensational final we've had. You couldn't have asked for a better game than this. Lord's goes wild. India will have every reason to believe victory has been stolen from right under their nose.
Veda Krishmamurthy's dismissal set the alarm bells ringing. India also perhaps erred by sending Sushma Verma ahead of Deepti Sharma. That gave England a window of an opportunity to build pressure
RS Gayakwad b Shrubsole 0 (4m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Get your questions in for #PoliteEnquiries with Mel and Jarrod post-match, remember the hashtag!
DB Sharma c Sciver b Shrubsole 14 (27m 12b 1x4 0x6) SR: 116.66
India are four ahead of DLS par score at the moment
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