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'Hopefully it inspires a lot of boys and girls in Australia to play cricket'

It's been four years since the Australian women's team had won a world title, and they came into the final of the World T20 in 2018 with bad memories - West Indies had beat the crown off them in 2016. Things didn't go to plan at the start of this title clash against England, with dropped catches and missed run-outs, but they did not panic. Eventually, Australia bowled England out for 105 and won the game with eight wickets to spare. Here's how the players felt after becoming World T20 champions.

The captain Meg Lanning

"We obviously haven't had the success we would've liked over the last couple of years. The last two World Cups really hurt and we made sure we learnt from those tournaments. We had to change a few things and I think the group has really embraced that fact that we need to move things forward and play a little bit differently and it showed tonight. I think this is a very satisfying win given the tournaments that we've had in the last coupe of years.

"We probably didn't have our best day in the field. Our bowlers did a great job. I thought they really tied them down and we were able to take wickets throughout. We didn't have our best day but we were able to continue on and make sure it didn't affect the rest of the game. Georgia Wareham and Sophie Molineux are quite young players but I thought Georgia Wareham was outstanding with that direct hit. She's a great fielder and she really showed that today and I thought her control with the ball was excellent as well. [Australia's review to get Lauren Winfield out after a couple of missed chances] I heard a noise. That was what I thought was pad first. So I went up to Wareham [the bowler] and said did it hit the pad and she was like, 'Oh there was something going on there' and so I called for it and it worked out pretty well.

[Loss to India before the knockouts] We came up against a really good side. We knew we could change a few things and learn from that and then we could carry on in the tournament. A couple of years ago, it might have rocked us, but we're a very calm group at the moment and I think we showed that tonight. I thought the girls who didn't play a lot of cricket in this tournament have been outstanding. They supported the group excellently and I think that really is very important in a big tournament like this. All the support staff have done a great job. We're very lucky with everyone we've got and they make it so easy for us to go out and just play cricket. I'd also like to thank the Aussie crew who are here supporting us. They've travelled a long way and we just love their support. My Mum and Dad are in the crowd so it's special to have them here. It was great. Ash said to me, just before that, no silly singles and I was like I'm just running as quick as I can. There was a lot of emotion out there. As I said, the last couple of World Cups haven't gone our way and we were ready to finish the job tonight."

Player of the Tournament Alyssa Healy

"Lucky I brought my golf bag. I didn't play any golf but it might fit some extra stuff. I'm really bad watcher of cricket on the sidelines. The girls played beautifully tonight. Just really proud of the team's effort. [How are you in such good form?] I wish people would stop asking me that question. I still haven't come up with an answer to that question. Just really enjoying the top of the order, the freedom up there. Our batting line-up just really enables us to play freely and play that fearless cricket that we keep talking about and I knew it'd come off eventually and it seemed to come off in the last six weeks. So I'm looking forward to going home and playing in the Big Bash and seeing if it can continue.

"We've worked really hard on that sort of culture over the last 12-18 months. Win, loss or draw tonight, we're really proud of where the group's at. And we came away with the win and I'm really proud and here's to many more with the team that we've got. The 2010 World Cup here in the Caribbean is still my favourite but this one might top it. Might just enjoy the next couple of days before we fly home and we'll see if we can experience a bit more of the Caribbean and see if it can top that last one. It's an amazing place to tour. It takes you three days to get here but once you're here, it's thoroughly enjoyable. The beaches here are amazing. The people here are really friendly and the crowd comes out to support which is amazing."

The allrounder Ellyse Perry

"Very special. This has been a long 24 months of working really hard and putting together a really awesome plan, and to have it come off tonight was absolutely awesome. But it's been a wonderful tournament, we've had so much fun. It's been a pleasure watching Meg [Lanning] bat throughout the tournament but everyone across the board has contributed. It's been a great time, and lovely to get the result tonight and hopefully inspire lots of boys and girls back home to play cricket.

"I don't think it's been tough at all, it's actually been a huge pleasure to take on this challenge, we've done a lot of things to improve our game and take on a different brand of cricket, and hopefully it's been really inspiring to people watching it. We've got the easy job, going out and enjoying ourselves on the field with a great group of girls who are all really good friends."

Player of the Match Ashleigh Gardner

"There was obviously a lot of nerves. But we could take a lot of confidence, obviously, out of our semi-final with the performance that we put up on the board. It's pretty amazing that we got the win. I don't think I had to stray too far away from my stock ball. Just trying to bowl into the wicket and trying to deal obviously with the wet seam. And I think every single bowler did a good job today. Obviously I didn't have the tournament that I probably would've liked. And tonight was pretty hard batting, obviously. I was 5 off about 20 balls and then thankfully later in my innings I got some balls in my zone and I was fortunate enough to hit the boundaries and it was bitter-sweet being out there at the end to get the winning runs with Meg. I had been out there for enough balls and obviously I was seeing them okay and as soon as the bowler tossed it up, I thought, yeah this is the one and yeah just went through with the shot. I'm speechless to be honest. It's just amazing."