Australia wins ICC Women’s Championship

Lahore : Australia has won the prestigious ICC Women’s Championship with its last set of matches still to go.

Australia emerged the winner following England’s five-wicket win for a 2-1 series victory over the West Indies which has put Australia in an unassailable position with a tally of 30 points after 18 of its 21 matches.

After 18 matches, England is on 23 points and can reach a maximum of 29 points at the end of the tournament, while the West Indies can at best reach 28 points after its three remaining matches. The other teams can only finish lower even if they win all their remaining matches.

In the tournament to date, six-time world champion Australia blanked the West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka by 3-0 margins, while it prevailed by 2-1 margins over England, India and New Zealand.

Captain Meg Lanning has been the leading batter for Australia with 1,000 runs in the championship, including four centuries and a highest score of 135 not out. All-rounder Ellyse Perry is the second-highest scorer with 797 runs, while Nicole Bolton has contributed 704 runs in the championship.

Left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen has been the most successful bowler for Australia with 29 wickets, left-arm spinner Kristen Beam has 21 wickets so far while Perry’s medium-pace bowling has got her 20 wickets.

While the top four sides from the ICC Women’s Championship qualify direct for the ICC Women’s World Cup, the bottom four sides will get a final chance of qualification through the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in February 2017.

Australia will be presented the championship trophy following its final ICC Women’s Championship match against South Africa in Sydney on 23 November.