London [UK], July 6 (ANI): Australia star Beth Mooney said the team's hard work and evolution over the past year made their ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 triumph even more satisfying after she starred in the final against England and swept both the Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament awards.

Mooney anchored Australia's successful chase of 151 with a composed 64 off 49 balls as the defending champions defeated England by seven wickets with 17 balls to spare at Lord's to clinch a record-extending seventh Women's T20 World Cup title.

Reflecting on being named Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament, Mooney said, 'Yeah, this has been on the calendar for a little while for us. So, it's just nice to be part of the squad first and foremost and have a role to play, opening the batting and wicketkeeping. So, yeah, just pumped to be here. There's been a lot of evolution in this group in the last 12 months, and a lot of growth and some fun times as well. So, really nice that we've capped it off with this today.'

Speaking about finally lifting the trophy after Australia fell short in the previous two ICC events, she added, 'Yeah, just happy to be here. I think it's been pretty well documented that we haven't quite made it this far in the last two ICC events. So, yeah, just woke up this morning pretty grateful we made it this far.'

Mooney also praised new captain Sophie Molineux for guiding the side through an unbeaten campaign.

'Yeah, so, she's been amazing. She's just calm and composed and doesn't look too flustered, I think. She's put her own spin on the captaincy and been a great leader. I think she's been a great leader in Australian cricket for a long time. People probably just haven't been able to see that. And now we're fortunate we get to see it firsthand. And, you know, the girls have really got around her, and it's just amazing icing on the cake for what's been a pretty amazing tournament for us as a group,' she said.

The experienced wicketkeeper-batter also reflected on her performances behind the stumps, including a sharp stumping of England opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge.

'Yeah, you know, warmed up in the tournament. I think at the start I was a bit rusty, but got some great support in our coaching staff with Dan Kiley and Shell, the boys and Sean McLeod. So, I've had plenty of help along the way. I can't take too much credit. It's been really nice to have some consistency with the gloves and to play a role in the field as well,' said the 32-year-old wicketkeeper-batter.

Explaining her approach during the title-winning chase, Mooney said, 'Oh, I think, you know, as I spoke about in the semi-final, it's really important to settle the dugout in the powerplay in a big game. Voll got us off to a really good start, hit the ball really well and then had an unfortunate dismissal. Phoebe came out and nailed it from ball one. So, you know, I just kept going and tried to make sure we got ahead of the game as early as possible.'

Australia recovered quickly after losing opener Georgia Voll in the second over, with Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield adding a match-defining partnership that powered the side to 62/1 at the end of the powerplay before taking them beyond the 100-run mark in the 11th over.

Litchfield made a fluent 48, while Mooney registered her ninth Women's T20 World Cup half-century before Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner completed the chase.

Earlier, Australia's disciplined bowling attack restricted England to 150/4 despite an unbeaten 58 from captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and 44 from Freya Kemp.

Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Lucy Hamilton and Kim Garth picked up a wicket apiece to lay the foundation for another memorable World Cup triumph. (ANI)