‘No mental baggage’: Hussain urges fearless England ahead of T20 World Cup final against Australia
New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) England must shed the psychological scars of recent defeats to Australia and embrace a fresh mindset if they are to end their rivals’ dominance in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final, former England captain Nasser Hussain has said.
England, unbeaten alongside Australia throughout the tournament, booked their place in Sunday’s title clash at Lord’s with a commanding semifinal victory over South Africa. But standing between the hosts and a first Women’s T20 World Cup title since 2009 are the six-time champions, who whitewashed England 16-0 in the 2025 Ashes and also defeated them in a warm-up game before the tournament.
Hussain believes England’s biggest challenge lies in overcoming the mental hurdle. “The first thing is the mind games with themselves. Do they really believe they can beat Australia? That is the first hurdle to get over,” Hussain said on Sky Sports. “No mental baggage, no scarring. It needs to be, ‘we are a new England, under a new coach [Charlotte Edwards took over after The Ashes], we are coming at you, Australia.’
While acknowledging Australia’s formidable strength, Hussain pointed to one potential vulnerability. “I don’t see many weaknesses in that Australia side, to be honest, and their biggest strength is a long batting line-up that keeps coming at you.
“The only thing is that maybe sometimes, because they have such a long batting line-up, they occasionally may think, ‘I can leave it to the next batter, then the next batter,’ and then all of a sudden they find themselves in a bit of trouble.”
Despite Australia’s overwhelming record, Hussain insisted England have every chance in a one-off final at a packed Lord’s. “In a one-off final at Lord’s, with a massive home crowd behind them, can England beat Australia? Of course they can. But Australia are favourites.”
England’s semifinal against South Africa briefly threatened to derail after they slumped to 23-3 inside four overs, losing Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Amy Jones, and Alice Capsey cheaply.
Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, returning after missing the final three group-stage matches with a calf injury, steadied the innings alongside former captain Heather Knight. The experienced pair shared a match-defining 133-run partnership from 90 balls, both scoring half-centuries to lift England to 169-5.
England then produced a clinical all-round display with the ball and in the field to restrict South Africa to 129-8. Sophie Ecclestone starred with figures of 1-21 and pulled off two outstanding catches as the hosts sealed a comprehensive 40-run victory.
Hussain praised Knight’s experience and Sciver-Brunt’s brilliance after their rescue. “I remember doing a women’s game at the start of the summer and was asked about Knight as she was struggling a little bit with her form. “I said England would need a little bit of experience and realise that even in a 20-over you can give the opposition five overs and catch up.
“Her partnership with Sciver-Brunt in the semi-final was outstanding, and Sciver-Brunt was brilliant. She picks up length really well, like all great players.”
He also highlighted England’s sharp fielding display under pressure as a key reason behind their convincing semifinal victory.
“In terms of the fielding, this was always going to be the big test. It is one thing to put on a display in group stage games when there will be a tomorrow, but if you mess up in a semifinal, there is no tomorrow. There was a lot of energy in the field, and I think that will have pleased (head coach) Charlotte Edwards the most. Their fielding has gone missing under pressure before, but under pressure here it really came to the fore,” he said.
–IANS
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