Australia captain Sophie Molineux has won the toss and elected to bowl first against England in the ENG vs AUS final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Lord’s.
The crucial decision marks the beginning of the tournament’s grand finale, with both heavyweights naming formidable line-ups for the title clash. You can find England Women National Cricket Team vs Australia National Cricket Team match scorecard here. In a major boost for the defending champions, veteran all-rounder Ellyse Perry despite concerns about her injury from semi-finals, has been included in Australia’s starting XI.
Notably, both teams have opted for consistency, naming an unchanged XI from their respective semi-finals win over South Africa and West Indies. For England, Nat Sciver-Brunt will only be available to bat, and will not bowl due to to her injury. Sciver-Brunt expressed confidence despite losing the toss, noting that her squad was fully prepared to set a chase any total on what appears to be a true and reliable batting surface.
Interestingly, this is England’s six loss out of seven toss, however, the home side are the only team to successful defend a total this tournament at Lord’s. In ICC Women’s T20 World Cups, Australia has historically dominated, leading 5-2 in eight encounters and having defeated England in all three previous T20 World Cup finals (2012, 2014, 2018).
Playing XIs
England Women: Amy Jones (wk), Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Alice Capsey, Heather Knight, Freya Kemp, Danielle Gibson, Charlotte Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell
Australia Women: Georgia Voll, Beth Mooney (wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux (c), Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton