Misplaced Pages

1988 Women's Cricket
World Cup Final

Event	1988 Women's Cricket World Cup
England Australia 127/7 129/2 60 overs 44.5 overs
Australia won by eight wickets
Date	18 December 1988
Venue	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia
Umpires	Robin Bailhache and Len King
Attendance	3,326
← 1982 1993 →

The 1988 Women's Cricket World Cup Final was a one-day cricket match between Australia and England played on 18 December 1988 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia. It marked the culmination of the 1988 Women's Cricket World Cup, the fourth edition of the tournament. Both Australia and England had previously won the competition; England won the inaugural tournament in 1973, while Australia won in both 1978 and 1982. Australia won the match by eight wickets to claim their third world title.

Australia and England finished first and second in the league-stage to claim their places in the final. England batted first in the final, but were hindered by a slow outfield, and found scoring difficult. The humid conditions helped Australia's spin bowlers, Lyn Fullston and Lyn Larsen, who combined for five wickets. Jan Brittin top-scored for England with 46 runs, as they made 127 for seven. In response, Australia initially struggled, losing two early wickets for 14 runs. An unbroken partnership of 115 runs between Lindsay Reeler and Denise Annetts saw Australia to victory with more than 15 overs remaining.

Background

The 1988 Women's Cricket World Cup was the fourth Women's Cricket World Cup. The first had been held in 1973, pre-dating the first men's Cricket World Cup by two years. The 1988 tournament featured five teams; Australia, England, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand. It took place between 29 November and 18 December 1988, featuring 22 matches over 20 days. England had won the first World Cup on home soil, before Australia claimed both the next two. Neither of the first two tournaments had featured a final, but had rather been league competitions, in which the team which finished with the most points won. Australia had defeated England by three wickets in the final of the 1982 World Cup.

Route to the final

Each team played eight matches during the round-robin stage of the tournament, facing each other twice. The top two teams would progress directly to the final. Australia won all but one of their matches. Their 255-run win over the Netherlands on the opening day of the tournament remained the largest win by runs until 1997. Australia's only loss came against England, who beat them by 15 runs. Australia's opening batters, Lindsay Reeler and Ruth Buckstein, scored four of the five centuries made during the tournament; Reeler's 108 not out against New Zealand was the only one that was not scored against the Netherlands. England won six of their matches, and lost two; against Australia and New Zealand. Australia finished top of the group with 28 points, followed by England whose 24 points were four more than New Zealand in third. Ireland and the Netherlands were well behind, with 8 and 0 points respectively.

Match

Summary

The final was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, in Melbourne, Australia, on 18 December 1988. The match was broadcast live on radio and on ABC Television in Australia, and in front of a crowd of 3,326. The Melbourne Cricket Ground was a large ground, capable of seating 90,000 people; England's Jan Brittin later said: "The ground was wall-to-wall seating with no one sitting in them, which didn't lend itself to a big-match atmosphere." There had been a thunderstorm overnight, and the rain had left the outfield very wet. The England captain, Jane Powell, won the toss and decided to bat first. Her decision was primarily based on Australia's public aversion to batting second, and having to chase a target. Heather Smith of The Sydney Morning Herald suggested that, due to the wet conditions, "England may have unwittingly helped their own downfall".

Carole Hodges and Wendy Watson opened the batting for England, and neither scored a run until the sixth over; the only runs attributed to England before that were wides bowled by the Australians, which The Age attributed to the "excitement of playing on the MCG for the first time". After 25 overs, England had scored 40 runs without losing a wicket, but both openers were frustrated by the slow run-rate. Watson was dismissed two overs later for 17; playing an aggressive shot, she was caught by Denise Annetts at cover off the bowling of Lyn Fullston. She had shared a 42-run opening partnership with Hodges, but John Woodcock of The Times complained that they "lacked pace between the wickets, when something very spritely was needed". England added ten more runs before Hodges was bowled by a delivery from Lyn Larsen which dislodged her off-bail. Hodges had scored 23, and England were 52 for two. Three of England's middle-order batters were dismissed for low scores: their captain, Powell, was caught behind off Larsen's bowling for one run; Karen Hicken was bowled by Fullston for five; Janet Aspinall was caught and bowled by Fullston for two. Brittin, who had come to the crease when Watson was out, remained not out; England were 74 for five.

After lunch, Brittin and Jo Chamberlain scored more quickly for England, earning praise from both The Sydney Morning Herald and The Times, but after putting on 26 runs together, Chamberlain was run out for 14 after the ball deflected off the bowler. Woodcock suggested that Brittin was England's only remaining hope. Patsy Lovell was trapped leg before wicket for four runs, while Suzie Kitson remained one not out at the end of the innings. Brittin had made England's highest score, 46 not out. Woodcock said that: "It was a pity, really, that Brittin had not got in before the 27th over, with the touch she has." England scored 127 runs, a total The Sydney Morning Herald said "was never going to be enough". Throughout their 60-over innings, England scored two boundaries. In humid conditions, they especially struggled against spin bowling; Fullston took three wickets and allowed 29 runs, while Larsen took two wickets for 22. The wet outfield also slowed scoring; this dried as the match went on, giving Australia the better of the batting conditions. In the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, Carol Salmon estimated that the slow outfield cost England between 20 and 30 runs.

Aspinall, who opened the bowling for England, struggled for accuracy; conceding extras, particularly wides, had been a problem for England all tournament and the final was no exception. In spite of this, England made an early breakthrough: Chamberlain, who according to The Age "worried the Australians with her accurate medium-pacers", trapped the Australian opener Buckstein leg before wicket without scoring in the second over. Australia's next batter, Sharlene Heywood only scored five runs in nine minutes until confusion between herself and Reeler led to Heywood being run out, leaving Australia on 14 for two. Annetts joined Reeler at the crease, and early in her innings was criticised by The Age for " a dangerously limp bat". Reeler was troubled by the quicker bowling of Kitson, and in the 14th over, England were convinced that they had dismissed her, caught behind, but the umpire turned down the appeal. Reeler claimed the ball had clipped her pads, rather than her bat, before being caught by the wicket-keeper. After the appeal, Reeler played more circumspectly for a while, before taking the offensive with "elegant driving and delicate cutting", according to The Age. In contrast to Reeler's technical style, Annetts played powerful shots, predominantly into the leg side. Reeler brought up her 50 and Australia's 100 from successive deliveries; the first a cover drive which went for a boundary, and the second an on drive. Annetts secured victory with a pull through the on side. Reeler finished with 59 runs, and Annetts with 48. The pair shared an unbroken 115-run partnership, and secured victory for Australia with eight wickets and more than 15 overs remaining.

Scorecard

• Toss: England won the toss and elected to field first
• Result: Australia won by eight wickets

Umpires:

• Robin Bailhache and Len King

Key

• * – Captain
• † – Wicket-keeper
• c Fielder – Indicates that the batsman was dismissed by a catch by the named fielder
• b Bowler – Indicates which bowler gains credit for the dismissal
• c & b Bowler – Indicates that the batsman was dismissed by a catch by the bowler

Aftermath

Reeler finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer, with 448 runs, while for the second successive World Cup, Fullston took the most wickets, with 16. After the tournament, Sharon Tredrea, Australia's vice-captain and former captain, announced her retirement. She was the only player who had appeared in all four World Cups. Between them, Australia and England have won ten of the eleven Women's Cricket World Cups; only in 2000 did one of the pair fail to win, when New Zealand beat Australia in the final.

References

1. ^ "ICC Women's World Cup History". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
2. ^ Salmon, Carol (1990). "Women's cricket, 1989". In Wright, Graeme (ed.). Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1990 (127 ed.). Guildford, Surrey: John Wisden & Co. Ltd. pp. 1137–1141. ISBN 0-947766-15-4.
3. "Records / Women's One-day Internationals / Team records / Largest margin of victory (by runs)". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
4. "Records / Shell Bicentennial Women's World Cup, 1988/89 / High scores". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
5. "Australia's top bat sends them reeling". The Canberra Times. Canberra. 15 December 1988. p. 24 – via Trove.
6. ^ Woodcock, John (19 December 1988). "Both World Cups are now safe in Australia's keeping". The Times. No. 63268. London. p. 31 – via Gale.
7. Bell, Jamie (23 May 2017). "The 1988 Women's Cricket World Cup". New Zealand Cricket Museum. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
8. "Like watching paint dry". ESPNcricinfo. 8 March 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
9. ^ Smith, Heather (19 December 1988). "Australia on top of world after easy victory in Cup". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. p. 51 – via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ Higgins, Fiona; Dunlevy, Lyn (19 December 1988). "Partners set up our third cup win". The Age. Melbourne. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Australia retains World Cup". The Canberra Times. Canberra. 19 December 1988. p. 20 – via Trove.
12. "Australia Women v England Women: Shell Bicentennial Women's World Cup 1988/89 (Final)". CricketArchive. Retrieved 8 April 2020.

v t e England women's cricket team
Players	Test cricketers ODI cricketers Twenty20 International cricketers
Related teams	Young England
Tours	Australia/New Zealand 1934–35 Australia/New Zealand 1948–49 Australia/New Zealand 1957–58 South Africa 1960–61 Australia/New Zealand 1968–69 Australia 1984–85 Ireland 1990 Australia/New Zealand 1991–92 India 1995–96 Australia/New Zealand 1999–2000 New Zealand 2000–01 India 2001–02 Australia 2002–03 South Africa 2003–04 South Africa 2004–05 India/Sri Lanka 2005–06 Australia/New Zealand 2007–08 West Indies 2009–10 India 2009–10 Sri Lanka 2010–11 Australia 2010–11 South Africa 2011–12 New Zealand 2011–12 West Indies 2013–14 Australia 2013–14 New Zealand 2014–15 South Africa 2015–16 Sri Lanka 2016–17 West Indies 2016–17 India 2017–18 Australia 2017–18 India 2018–19 Sri Lanka 2018–19 Pakistan 2019–20 New Zealand 2020–21 Pakistan 2021–22 Australia 2021–22 West Indies 2022–23 India 2023–24 New Zealand 2023–24 Ireland 2024 South Africa 2024–25
Home series	Australia 1937 Australia 1951 New Zealand 1954 Australia 1963 New Zealand 1966 Australia 1976 West Indies 1979 New Zealand 1984 India 1986 Australia 1987 New Zealand 1996 South Africa 1997 Australia 1998 India 1999 South Africa 2000 Australia 2001 India 2002 South Africa 2003 New Zealand 2004 Australia 2005 India 2006 South Africa 2007 New Zealand 2007 West Indies 2008 South Africa 2008 India 2008 Australia 2009 Ireland 2010 New Zealand 2010 Ireland 2012 India 2012 Pakistan 2012 West Indies 2012 Pakistan 2013 Australia 2013 India 2014 South Africa 2014 Australia 2015 Pakistan 2016 South Africa 2018 New Zealand 2018 West Indies 2019 Australia 2019 West Indies 2020 India 2021 New Zealand 2021 South Africa 2022 India 2022 Australia 2023 Sri Lanka 2023 Pakistan 2024 West Indies 2025
Competitions	The Ashes 1934–35 1937 1948–49 1951 1957–58 1963 1968–69 1976 1984–85 1987 1991–92 1998 2001 2002–03 2005 2007–08 2009 2010–11 2013 2013–14 2015 2017–18 2019 2021–22 2023 Europe 1989 1990 1991 1995 1999 2001 Tri-Nations 1991–92 2002 2013–14 2017–18 2018 2020 Quadrangular Series 2002–03 2006–07 2011 (T20) 2011 (ODI) Commonwealth Games 2022
Matches	World Cup finals 1982 1988 1993 2009 2017 2022 T20 World Cup finals 2018
See also	Record by opponent

v t e Australia women's national cricket team
Players	Test cricketers ODI cricketers Twenty20 International cricketers
Tours	England 1937 New Zealand 1947–48 England 1951 New Zealand 1960–61 England 1963 New Zealand 1974–75 West Indies 1975–76 England 1976 India 1983–84 New Zealand 1985–86 Ireland 1987 England 1987 New Zealand 1987–88 New Zealand 1989–90 New Zealand 1993–94 New Zealand 1994–95 New Zealand 1996–97 England/Ireland 1998 New Zealand 1998–99 England/Ireland 2001 New Zealand 2001–02 New Zealand 2003–04 India 2004–05 England 2005 New Zealand 2007–08 New Zealand 2008–09 England 2009 New Zealand 2009–10 New Zealand 2011 India 2011–12 England 2013 England 2015 Ireland 2015 New Zealand 2015–16 New Zealand 2016–17 Sri Lanka 2016–17 India 2017–18 Malaysia 2018–19 England 2019 West Indies 2019–20 South Africa 2019–20 New Zealand 2020–21 India 2022–23 England 2023 Ireland 2023 India 2023–24 Bangladesh 2023–24
Home series	England 1934–35 England 1948–49 New Zealand 1956–57 England 1957–58 England 1968–69 New Zealand 1971–72 India 1976–77 New Zealand 1978–79 England 1984–85 New Zealand 1984–85 New Zealand 1986–87 New Zealand 1990–91 India 1990–91 England 1991–92 New Zealand 1992–93 New Zealand 1995–96 Pakistan 1996–97 New Zealand 1997–98 South Africa 1998–99 England 1999–2000 New Zealand 1999–2000 New Zealand 2001–02 England 2002–03 New Zealand 2003–04 New Zealand 2004–05 India 2005–06 New Zealand 2006–07 New Zealand 2007 England 2007–08 India 2008–09 New Zealand 2008–09 New Zealand 2009 New Zealand 2009–10 England 2010–11 New Zealand 2011 New Zealand 2011–12 New Zealand 2012–13 England 2013–14 Pakistan 2014 West Indies 2014–15 India 2015–16 New Zealand 2016–17 South Africa 2016–17 England 2017–18 New Zealand 2018–19 Sri Lanka 2019–20 New Zealand 2020–21 India 2021–22 England 2021–22 Pakistan 2022–23 West Indies 2023–24 South Africa 2023–24
Competitions	The Ashes 1934–35 1937 1948–49 1951 1957–58 1963 1968–69 1976 1984–85 1987 1991–92 1998 2001 2002–03 2005 2007–08 2009 2010–11 2013 2013–14 2015 2017–18 2019 2021–22 2023 Rose Bowl 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1989–90 1990–91 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2006–07 2007 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2015–16 2016–17 2018–19 2020–21 Tri-Nations 1991–92 1994–95 2017–18 2020 2022 Quadrangular Series 2002–03 2006–07 2011 (T20) 2011 (ODI)
Matches	World Cup Finals 1982 1988 1997 2000 2005 2013 2022 T20 World Cup Finals 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2023

• 1988 in Australian cricket
• 1988 in English cricket
• 1988 Women's Cricket World Cup
• England women's national cricket team matches
• Australia women's national cricket team matches
• Women's Cricket World Cup finals
• 1980s in Melbourne
• Cricket in Melbourne
• Melbourne Cricket Ground