Sophie Molineux grew up watching cricket with her father. Some 15 years ago, she said she would one day like to watch a Test at Lord’s.

Molineux is going to do better than that. She will on Sunday (July 5, 2026) lead Australia in the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup at the home of cricket.

The Australian captain expects a tough challenge. “It is going to be a huge challenge,” she said.

“They have played some really brilliant cricket over the last few weeks. Lottie [coach Charlotte Edwards] has got the team in a really good place, and they seem to be full of confidence. And you add on to that, 30,000 English fans here at Lord’s.”

Molineux, however, pointed out that her team matched up well against England.

“We don’t look too far into the past, but we should be very confident heading into this,” she said. “And if we just look at how we want to play and what we can do.”

Her counterpart Nat Sciver-Brunt is also relishing the challenge.

“Every time we come up against Australia, it is going to be a tough battle,” said the England captain.

“Both teams have got players that have got massive experience, and also some youngsters who are hugely talented as well.”

She is glad that her team is a nice blend of youth and experience.

“We have had some great performances from Freya [Kemp] and Dani [Gibson], obviously, with the bat, taking the game on in the last five-six overs,” Sciver-Brunt said.

“And Kemp has been bowling really well and sticking to her skills.”

Looking ahead to the summit clash with a most familiar rival, she said: “Finals like this don’t come around that often.”

Among those watching the final at Lord’s will be Mark Molineux, Sophie’s dad.

The Globe Theatre is just five miles away from Lord’s. Cricket’s most famous ground has witnessed, in its long history, moments that could compare well with the drama of a Shakespearian play.

Also read | Women’s T20 World Cup: Skipper Sciver-Brunt’s knock takes England into the final

Most of them have involved men’s cricket. Women haven’t played as much cricket at Lord’s. But times are changing. Remember, in Shakespeare’s time, women were not even allowed to perform on stage, though he penned some of literature’s greatest female characters.

Lord’s, in fact, is going to host next week its first-ever Women’s Test match, between England and India. The Englishwomen are unlikely to be thinking of that game yet, though.

They are focused completely on a game played in a much shorter format: the Women’s T20 World Cup final against Australia on Sunday (July 5, 2026).

For all the interest a final involving India would have generated, especially in a country of a billion cricket fans, there surely could not have been a bigger contest to end what has been a fascinating tournament.

The final fits the bill in every way. The best side against the host, which also happens to be the second-best team. The game’s oldest rivals. A team whose talent is so deep, it is unreal, against a side that has some exceptional players and is captained by one of the most skilful, competitive women that has ever played cricket.

Her teammates will indeed be hoping for another superwoman effort from skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, who had led them from the front to take them to the final. After a rare top-order failure, she put the England innings back on the track, and with ample support from fellow-veteran Heather Knight, registered a total that would prove far too much for South Africa.

Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who didn’t click in that game, is still on top of the run-charts. The seam of Lauren Bell and the spin of Linsey Smith, Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean, has served England well.

As for Australia, this is one of those great teams in sporting history that can intimidate any opposition. Runs could come anywhere. So could wickets.

Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, captain Sophie Molinuex, Phoebe Litchfield… It is not easy to prepare for players like that.

But, the England women will be backed by its supporters. And they have the Lionesses and the Red Roses, their sisters in football and rugby respectively, to draw inspiration from.