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

England all-rounder reached a spectacular 148 which was all in vain against Alyssa Healy’s record-breaking 170 for Australia

As the 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 of 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 Christchurch’s Hagley Oval 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.