England vs Australia final preview, Alyssa Healy interview, video, highlights, start time

Beth Mooney has been in the wars over the last couple of weeks.

The wicketkeeper was forced off the field with back spasms during Australia’s T20 World Cup match against the Netherlands in Southampton before twice fracturing her finger during the 113-run victory over Pakistan at Headingley.

Ex-Australian captain Alyssa Healy, Mooney’s predecessor, couldn’t help poking fun at her former opening partner.

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“It’s not easy, is it Moons?” she laughed.

“People underestimate the old wicketkeeping-opening batting scenario.”

With Mooney and reserve wicketkeeper Phoebe Litchfield (quad injury) out of action, opener Georgia Voll served as Australia’s makeshift wicketkeeper for the Netherlands clash, despite having never donned the gloves in a professional match.

Following the tournament from back home in Australia, Healy could hardly believe it.

“Disgusting,” she muttered, shaking her head.

“What made me laugh a little bit was how blessed we’ve been for so long. I had the gloves on and Moons was in the squad, so if something happened, Moons was able to just chip in.

“And obviously with Phoebe out, Moons out, it was like, ‘Oh, who do we go to next?’

“I’m actually surprised Nic (Carey) didn’t wicketkeep because I’ve seen Nic keep before, but I guess she’s a little bit too handy in the bowling front.”

However, Voll was more than up to the task, swallowing a catch with her eighth delivery behind the stumps to remove Netherlands opener Phebe Molkenboer during the Powerplay.

“She’d be pretty chuffed with that,” Healy said of the dismissal.

“I sent her a message saying, ‘Nice hands.’

“I think she was surprised that it actually stuck.”

Mooney thankfully recovered from her injury worries to help Australia qualify for the T20 World Cup decider, top-scoring with an unbeaten 61 during Tuesday’s semi-final against the West Indies in London.

The left-hander, who took over the national team’s first-choice wicketkeeper following Healy’s retirement in March, is Australia’s second-leading run scorer of the tournament with 174 runs at 43.50 and an impressive strike rate of 147.45.

And with superstar Ellyse Perry under an injury cloud ahead of this weekend’s final, there will be even more pressure on the experienced Mooney to step up on the big stage.

“She’s been doing great for Australia for the last 12 months that she’s had the gloves on,” Healy said of Mooney.

“She’s one of the best players in the world in all three formats, to be honest, and I think her adaptability and versatility in that role is crucial for Australia having success.

“She’s been doing great and hopefully has a big run in the final.”

Australia, led by new captain Sophie Molineux, are undefeated in the T20 World Cup with six consecutive wins, facing hosts England in Sunday’s final at Lord’s.

It comes after the six-time champions lost their title during the previous edition of the tournament in 2024, suffering a shock loss to South Africa in the semi-final.

England, meanwhile, has lost each of their three most recent T20 World Cup final appearances in 2012, 2014 and 2018 – with Australia the victors on each occasion.

However, England has never lost a women’s World Cup campaign across formats on home soil, boasting an impeccable record of four trophies across four tournaments in 1973, 1993, 2009 and 2017.

“All the pressure is on England, right?” Healy said.

“It’ll be on (captain) Nat Scriver and the girls to try and get themselves over the line against a really good Australian side.”

Australia entered the tournament in unfamiliar territory; following an unprecedented era of dominance under captain Meg Lanning, they lost possession of the major ICC trophies in 2024 and 2025, knocked out in the semi-finals on both occasions.

All-rounder Ash Gardner confessed it was a relief to break the semi-final “curse” this week, but Healy scoffed at her former teammate’s remark.

“We’ve lost two, like calm down everybody,” she said with tongue in cheek.

“To not have those trophies in the cabinet stung a lot. I mean, it stung me personally, but it did sting the group, and for that group to bounce back and hopefully lift that trophy, I think it’ll be huge.

“It’s something we pride ourselves on as a team. We have done for a long period of time, winning the big moments and winning those World Cups.”

Asked whether winning back the trophy would have a different feel to retaining it, as they did in 2020 and 2023, Healy responded: “In my opinion, you never retain a World Cup.

“I feel like you win it and it goes back into the ether. After you’ve lifted it and celebrated with it, it goes away again and then you work for the next couple of years to get your hands on the trophy again.”

Molineux had a rocky start as Australia’s captain, suffering a 2-1 T20 series defeat against India at home before playing as a specialist fielder during March’s white-ball tour of the West Indies due to a back complaint.

However, the injury-prone Victorian has hardly put a foot wrong since; she’s Australia’s leading wicket-taker of the T20 World Cup with ten scalps at 13.00, earning nothing but praise from teammates for her leadership.

While many didn’t anticipate Molineux’s appointment, nobody on the inner sanctum was surprised.

“There were a couple of options (for the captaincy), don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t a huge surprise to me that Soph got that role,” Healy said.

“It was probably more a discussion of workload and how much she’s going to play, but to see her be able to get through this tournament in particular, I think is huge.

“She’s a huge competitor and a huge believer in people, and I think that’s really showing at the moment, that people are playing their role, they’re doing their job, but they’re also really enjoying themselves out there.

“Soph’s been able to find that balance, and I think that’s great for the team.”

The T20 World Cup final between England and Australia gets underway at Lord’s on Monday morning at 12.30am AEST.