Australia seek a London stamp to their World Cup dynasty

If it's a Women's World Cup, Australia are never really out of it. Seven months of not being called the world champions, and it has tricked no one really to believe that they weren't returning to hunt it down again. For this dynasty, cricket has traded its excitement for sporting excellence.

After a brief hop-skip-jump, the World Cup is back to a familiar place, with England and Australia - having reaffirmed their positions as the best in the women's game - competing to get their hands on the title in front of a packed Lord's, a stadium which relishes these dynasties and guard their stories; paint some, frame others, narrate the rest and write about it until the ink runs out. On women's cricket though, they don't have enough told.

The disparity that cricket survives with - showcased by Netherlands and put into words by Hayley Matthews - was never in question. The hope was that the World Cup would provide a break from this predicted success, maybe witness the little democratic revolutions; an underdog seizing the day, maybe a newcomer showcasing reckless courage or one of the teams punching above their weight in the knockouts.

A World Cup sells all these possibilities to avoid a theatre of certainty; the last two editions being its proof. That hope is what keeps the excitement alive - Sri Lanka thumping New Zealand, Ireland shocking West Indies, Bangladesh and Pakistan stretching South Africa, Scotland having its moment. This tournament has witnessed all that, and yet in the end, Australia and England have been unaffected by it.

Captaincy succession and retirements of legends have done little to impact Australia's performance factory. They have simply forgotten what a losing streak means, treating defeats like a hoax for the better part of the last decade. England, on the other hand, are on a revival spree, trying to reclaim what was long theirs - the undeniable stamp as the No. 2 of world cricket. Their reinvention, with the same group of players, under a fresh leadership group, has peaked for them at the opportune time.

The resentment to this monotony is tempting, but it's merely admiration in disguise. Both teams will walk to the final unbeaten - and almost unscathed in the tournament.

There is little to separate them too. England have always won a home World Cup. Australia have never lost to England in a T20 World Cup final. England have won each of its 11 T20 World Cup matches at home. Australia have a 5-2 advantage over them in T20 World Cups.

If recent form can't separate them, neither can history. Come Sunday, the battle lines will be drawn; the history of rivalry is old, but at least a few new hands will touch the silverware.

With Rita Ora and Clean Bandit performing, there will be something new, unusually funky even at the ground of the traditionalists. But like the venue, is cricket ready for its surprise? Or will it be abandoned for excellence between the two best again?

What to expect: It's not been a venue where picking wickets has been easy. Through the middle overs, since 2025, the scoring rate has dropped significantly at Lord's. Even though it's an afternoon game, heat shouldn't be a factor as it's expected to be cloudy.

Australia: Ellyse Perry, who had retired hurt due to a minor quad strain in the semis, has returned to training. But Sophie Molineux has not confirmed her availability for the final, stating that the team will assess her fitness on match-day.

"The group feels really calm; that's all we could really ask for. We'll just make sure we do that over the next 24 hours and make sure we turn up here tomorrow having not have played the game 1,000 times in our heads" -Sophie Molineux, Australia captain

"I guess Heather, myself, and Danni will probably be thinking about it (the 2017 World Cup final) a little bit. Danni and my lives have changed quite considerably since then. So, we might not be able to prepare this evening in the same way. I mean, we watched Saving Private Ryan in the team room (before the 2017 World Cup final). I'm not really sure why, but we only managed half of it because obviously it's a long film. But I don't know if I'm going to have time for the rest of that film tonight." - Nat Sciver-Brunt, England captain

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