ICC Women's World Cup: Soul-searching put Australia's women cricketers on top of the world

Australia's women's cricketers can lay justifiable claim to being the greatest sports team on the planet after their all-conquering run to World Cup glory was capped by a record-breaking demolition of England in the final. Individual and team records were shattered in Christchurch as they completed a clean sweep by adding the 50-over world championship to Twenty20 World Cup and Ashes crowns, the culmination of a meticulous five-year plan. Alyssa Healy played the greatest innings by a man or woman in a World Cup final, smashing 170 from just 138 balls. Australia's total of 356-5 on Sunday was the highest against England's women, the title holders, by any team.

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Australia, led by a sublime 170 from Alyssa Healy, rewrote the record books to beat a valiant England by 71 runs in the Women's World Cup final in Christchurch on Sunday. Australia amassed a daunting 356 for five but the defending champions England, faced with a record target, kept up the run rate

This dazzling Australia side won all nine of their World Cup matches to take their recent 50-over record to 38 wins in their last 39 matches. Opening batswoman Healy entered cricket folklore after toying with the bowlers in the knockout stages of the tournament, becoming the first woman to score more than 500 runs in a World Cup. She is the first player to reach three figures in both the semi-final, where she scored 129, and the final of a World Cup -- men's or women's. If the 32-year-old's century in the win over the West Indies in the last four was a masterclass, her beautifully timed effort in the final was one for the ages.

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