Nat Sciver’s genius could not save England but did rescue the game against Australia

As Olympic hurdler Rai Benjamin discovered in Tokyo last year, when he finished second to Karsten Warholm in one of the greatest races of all time, you can smash a longstanding world record and still end up losing. Nat Sciver can now relate. Her one-woman assault on one of Australia women’s best ever bowling attacks was the heartbreaking equivalent of breasting the tape just after it’s been broken by the person in front of you.

In the mathematical and therefore most important sense, England got nowhere near the opposition’s total in this World Cup final. And yet it felt so much closer because of Sciver’s 148 off 121 balls. It was a resplendent innings of power and panache, touched by genius. Unfortunately for her team, it was also the second most spectacular innings to happen at the ground that day. It may never have been triggered at all had it not been for the enormity of Alyssa Healy’s achievement in setting the highest ever individual score in a World Cup final.

The fact that Sciver was herself left within neck-breathing distance of Adam Gilchrist’s 149 – that cricket was only a scampered single away from two women topping that all-time chart – will remain an exquisite, lingering torture until the next time the numbers change. Until then, we have the memories – and should cherish them, because the England vice-captain’s performance deserves to be far more than a footnote.

With the score 38-2, England’s leading tournament runscorer stayed quiet for all of two overs before she charged Alana King to hit the first, and only, six of the game over midwicket. There were two early lbw calls – one of them overturned on review – and the loss of her captain; and at 86 for 3, the sun was going down on both the horizon and on