Women's CWC: There are some nerves, says Australia captain Meg Lanning ahead of final clash
Apr 02, 2022
Christchurch [New Zealand], April 2 Australia captain Meg Lanning said that her team had been building momentum and added there were "certainly some nerves" going into the final against England at the Hagley Oval in the ongoing ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 on Sunday.
Six-time winners Australia will take on defending champions England, who pulled themselves up from the brink of elimination and made it to the summit clash after losing the first three group games. Australia, on the other hand, have remained unbeaten in the tournament.
"There are certainly some nerves around I think it would be crazy if you weren't nervous heading into a World Cup final, so it's a good thing. But there's a lot of excitement. It's a great opportunity for our team to go out on a big stage and play really good cricket and we feel like we've been building momentum throughout the tournament. We've got a really good game plan and also the skill sets within the team to be able to deliver but it comes down to what happens tomorrow," said Meg Lanning.
"We know that it's going to be tough, England always provide a great contest. They've got some world-class players who can take the game away from you really quickly. It's going to be a massive challenge for us and certainly not going to be easy but we feel confident that if we can put up as close to our best as possible, then that'll give us a good chance," said Lanning.
Lanning, who will play in her 100th ODI on Sunday, started the tournament by saying everyone was chasing England but, with one game left, the goal has changed.
"We're both chasing the same thing tomorrow, we both want to win just as much as the other. That's the thing about World Cup finals, it's all on the line on the day, it's irrelevant what's happened previously in the tournament. Both teams start on zero runs tomorrow and it's about putting out a really good performance and that's the challenge for our team,' she added.
Giving an update about star all-rounder Ellyse Perry, who is recovering from a back injury that ruled her out of Australia's last two games, Lanning said, "Ellyse got through a pretty hard and high-intensity session yesterday and she's trained again today and is feeling pretty good. It will just depend on how she pulls up sort of this afternoon, that will be the final hurdle she needs to get over. But at this stage, it is looking pretty good."
"She can definitely play as a specialist bat and that's probably the most likely scenario. She hasn't bowled for a couple of weeks now and it would be difficult for her to come out and bowl in a final. Ellyse is a world-class player to have someone with that experience, someone who has performed on the big stage before hopefully to be part of our team is a huge boost," she added.