'Emotional and excited’ – Healy & Co. bask in WT20 glory

It was all rather one-sided in the end, as one can expect from an Australian side going at full throttle.

England opted to bat first, but only Danni Wyatt (43) and Heather Knight (25) got into double figures at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua as Ashleigh Gardner led a stunning bowling effort. She got 3/22, Schutt and Georgia Wareham picked up two each, and England folded for 105.

Australia did lose star batter Healy and Beth Mooney early on but coasted to victory with 4.5 overs and eight wickets in hand as Gardner (33*) and captain Meg Lanning (28*) scored the big runs.

Despite Australia never really looking like their would lose, it was tough watching from the dugout.

“I’m a really bad watcher of cricket from the sidelines … no, the girls played beautifully tonight, and I’m just really proud of the team’s effort,” said Healy, the Player of the Tournament.

For Wareham, still only 19 and already a world champion, it’s going to take time to realise just what she and her mates have achieved.

“It’s pretty unreal, hasn’t really sunk in yet. But I’m really proud of all the girls, we’ll go an enjoy tonight. I think we were all counting (the runs) down, but we all trusted each other that we’d get it done in the end. But yeah, there were certainly some nerves down in the bench,” she admitted.

Mooney has been an outstanding foil to the free-scoring Healy at the top of the order, and played her part in the win in the final.

“We’ve done really well this whole tournament, been really consistent, and it was a really clinical performance by the bowlers today and backed up by the batters. Ash came out and absolutely whacked it, made things awesome to watch from the sidelines,” she reflected.

Delissa Kimmince, who has said again and again how lucky she feels to be a part of the playing XI, was emotional and ecstatic.

“It’s pretty emotional, to be honest. My journey through cricket has been pretty up and down, so to get out here and be a part of the starting XI … yeah, pretty emotional, but pretty excited,” she said.

One of Australia’s outstanding performers has been Schutt, the pacer, who picked up 2/13 in the final to take her tournament tally to 10.

“Pretty happy, I’m trying to hold back my tears,” she said immediately after the win.

And making the whole experience that much more fun was the noise from the crowd – the stands were packed and rocking, like much of the tournament.

“It’s pretty hard to hear Meg out there, but it’s a pretty good distraction,” joked Schutt. “I love noise and all that sort of stuff, so works well for me. But I think the crowds turning out has been fantastic for women’s cricket.”