Grace Scrivens claimed the final wicket as England edged past Australia in a low-scoring thriller to reach the first Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup final in Potchefstroom.
With Australia 96 for nine chasing 100, the England captain trapped Maggie Clark lbw to send her side through to face India in Sunday’s final.
England recovered from 45 for seven to post 99 after winning the toss, with Scrivens hitting a run-a-ball 20 from the top of the order and Alexa Stonehouse adding 25.
Australia soon slipped to four for two in reply before Claire Moore and Ella Hayward, with 20 and 16 respectively, shared a 30-run stand.
But Australia soon collapsed from 48 for three to 59 for seven to give England hope.
Amy Smith’s 26 from as many balls seemed to be taking her side over the line until her dismissal saw the pendulum swing again.
With four runs needed, Milly Illingworth was run out with a direct-hit from Ryana MacDonald-Gay before Scrivens struck at the death.
Hannah Baker was the pick of the England bowling attack, taking three for 10 runs from four overs, with Scrivens chipping in with two for eight.
“We’re all absolutely delighted,” Baker said after the victory.
“We really believed at the halfway mark that we could still win and the two early wickets gave us even more confidence.
“We knew if we kept the stumps in play we could keep causing problems and we backed each other in the field really well.
“There’s one massive game left – it’s so special to have qualified for the final – but we have to give it everything in one last game to hopefully come away with the trophy. It’s been an amazing competition, and we’ve learned so much, but there’s one more challenge to come and that’s our focus now.”
