Australia full of individual stars but team approach wins the World Cup | Megan Maurice

It is not simply a special group of players at the top right now, but a seemingly never-ending talent factory

If you have watched more than a fleeting moment of the Women’s Cricket World Cup over the past month, you will be intimately acquainted with Gin Wigmore’s Girl Gang – the song that accompanies the entry of the teams on to the field each match and plays on a seemingly continuous loop the rest of the time. On the surface it is an upbeat, peppy tune. In the context of the Australian team, though, its lyrics take on a more ominous tone. Suddenly the lines “I got the strength to tear it apart” and “we’re taking over the world” do not come across as metaphorical and the idea of some kind of Meg Lanning-controlled dictatorship seems entirely within the realms of possibility.

From start to finish at this tournament, Lanning’s team have been ruthless. There is no better word to capture the way they have gone about their business. Competition for a spot in the playing XI has been far fiercer than the competition they have faced on the field. From established stars such as Lanning, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy through to the newer faces of Alana King, Darcie Brown and Tahlia McGrath, there was no weakness to exploit, not a glimmer of hope on which an opposition could cling. England were valiant in defeat in the final, but they had little chance of stopping this juggernaut.