Scoring a century for your country in any format is always a special feeling, but scoring it in a World Cup is a thing that every cricketer dreams of achieving for his/her country when they start their journey as a cricketer. But when it comes in a World Cup final, it just adds a cherry on the top of the cake. In this article, we will have a look at the women’s players who scored a century in a World Cup final.
Players to score a century in a World Cup final.
1) Karen Rolton (Australia), [Vs India, 10th April 2005, Centurion, South Africa]:
The Australian women’s team led by skipper Belinda Clark finished at the top of the points table at the end of the league stages with five victories out of their seven games. A couple of matches against England and India during their campaign were washed out. It was their first and the last game of their campaign during the league stages of the tournament. Australia defeated England by five wickets in the first semi-final.
On the other hand, India defeated New Zealand by 40 runs in the second semi-final. Australia were all set to face India in the final. The Australian skipper Belinda Clark won the toss and opted to bat first. They posted a competitive total of 215/4 in their quota of overs. Former Australian captain Karen Rolton played a crucial role in helping her side go past the 200-run mark by scoring an unbeaten century (107 off 128 balls), alongside a calm and composed half-century from Lisa Sthalekar (55 off 75 balls), who were the top performers with the bat for Australia.
They eventually ended up as the winners as India were bundled out for 117, with four overs to spare. As a result, they fell 98 runs short of the target. Karen Rolton was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning performance with the bat in the final. She was awarded the Player of the Series for scoring 246 runs with the bat and picked up 10 wickets with the ball right through the tournament.
2) Alyssa Healy (Australia), [Vs England, 3rd April 2022, Christchurch, New Zealand]:
The Australian women’s team led by skipper Meg Lanning managed to stay unbeaten right through the league stages of the tournament. Australia defeated West Indies by a massive 157-run margin in the first semi-final. On the other hand, England defeated South Africa by a massive 137-run margin in the second semi-final. Australia were all set to face England in the final. England skipper Heather Knight won the toss and opted to field first.
Australia posted a humongous total of 356/5 in their quota of overs. The wicket-keeper batter Alyssa Healy scored a massive hundred (170 off 138 balls) Rachael Haynes (68 off 93 balls), and Beth Mooney (62 off 47 balls) played a pivotal role in helping Australia post a massive total on the board. Chasing a massive 357-run target, the star all-rounder from England Nat Sciver-Brunt put on a commendable fight and was the lone warrior staying unbeaten on 148 off just 121 balls, scoring at a strike rate of 122.31.
However, her exceptional effort with the bat went in vain as she failed to find able support from the other end. England eventually fell 71 runs short of the target. Alyssa Healy was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning performance with the bat in the final. She was also awarded the Player of the Series for scoring 509 runs with the bat right through the tournament.
3) Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), [Vs Australia, 3rd April 2022, Christchurch, New Zealand]:
The England women’s team led by skipper Heather Knight managed to finish in the third position in the points table with four victories in seven matches behind South Africa and Australia at the end of the league stages. England defeated South Africa by a massive 137-run margin in the second semi-final. On the other hand, Australia defeated West Indies by a massive 157-run margin in the first semi-final. England were all set to face Australia in the final.
England skipper Heather Knight won the toss and opted to field first. After being inserted to bat first, Australia posted a humongous total of 356/5 in their quota of overs courtesy of twin half-centuries from Rachael Haynes and Beth Mooney and a massive century from Alyssa Healy.
Chasing a massive 357-run target, the star all-rounder from England Nat Sciver-Brunt put on a commendable fight and was the lone warrior staying unbeaten on 148 off just 121 balls, scoring at a strike rate of 122.31. However, her exceptional effort went in vain as it ended up in a losing cause as England fell 71 runs short of the target. They were eventually bundled out for 285 with 38 balls to spare.
