Got a great chance of beating Australia: Ecclestone reflects ahead of World Cup final

While England endured a tough start in the competition, losing their first three games, Australia were flying high in the Women’s World Cup, without losing a single encounter. But since then, England have not just picked up the pace but also left the burners on the other sides, as they sealed a place for themselves in the final of the competition, setting up a date against Meg Lanning’s Australia. 

Tournament’s leading wicket-taker and one of the best bowlers in the women’s competition, Sophie Ecclestone, said that England have a great chance of beating the dangerous Australian side in the final of the competition. 

"Beating the Aussies in the final, I can't really put it into words after the Ashes we had I really believe in this group and on our day, we can definitely beat the Aussies - we've got a great chance," Ecclestone said.

"I know if we play our best cricket and our batters bat the way they can and the bowlers bowl the way they can, we've got such a great unit as a team, so we'll just focus on ourselves and do the best we can," she said.

On the other hand, Australian all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner, pointed at Ecclestone as a threat for Australia in the upcoming final. 

"She's the number one bowler for a reason. She's a fantastic left-arm off-spinner and she's quite a tall bowler so she gets a lot more bounce," Gardner said on SEN 1170 Breakfast show on Friday.

"On spin-friendly wickets, she can get the odd one to turn as well. She's certainly a bowler we see as a threat. That's someone that we don't want to just give wickets to. Our batters played her so fantastically in the first game when she went 0/70. Keeping her quiet for the game is probably our best option,” she added.

For Australia, star all-rounder Ellyse Perry was ruled out of the semi-final clash against West Indies, owing to issues with her back. Gardner, prior to the clash, stated that the entire squad is hoping that the all-rounder would be fit in time to play in the final. 

"She's tracking okay. She's doing absolutely everything possible to get up for that final. She's such an incredible athlete and she'll be doing all the right things to try and play for the team,” she concluded.