Sarthak Dev

The day began with Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Australia were fifty short of Bangladesh and beginning to feel the match come towards them. Alex Carey and Cameron Green were well set, comfortable, as the sixty over old Kookaburra ball pinged off their broad bats. The temperature in Darwin was hovering around 30 degrees, a touch of dampness in the air hinting at a summer soon to descend upon the southern hemisphere.

Sometime in the early 2010s, a Spanish journalist coined the term, "Messidependencia" to illustrate Barcelona's dependence on their extraterrestrial superstar. Everything in Barcelona, ever since Guardiola's energies started waning, went through Messi's feet. As the club would find out over the next few years, it could be a double-edged sword. The West Indies women's cricket team have, similarly, a Hayleydependencia. Hayley Matthews is their spearhead, saviour, talisman, and guide.

A bright London afternoon, Lord's packed to the brim, and two great teams, unbeaten through their respective campaigns, adding a new chapter to an old rivalry. If you were to script the setting for a World Cup final, you could hardly do better. England and Australia had been near perfect through this tournament. Only on zooming into recent history does one realise the power tilt: Australia had won the 2024-25 Ashes 16-0, and they even beat England in the warm-up game.