ICC CWC 2022 | I felt pretty confident and I'd probably not done as well as I had expected - Nat Sciver

Veteran England all-rounder Nat Sciver scored two brilliant hundreds against Australia in the World Cup, but she had to end up on the losing side on both occasions. The champion batter was left with mixed emotions, followed by a heart-breaking defeat in the final.

Sciver, who had scored an unbeaten 85-ball 109 in England's 12-run defeat to the Aussies in the opening game of the World Cup, did an encore of the game in the summit clash on Sunday, hammering an unbeaten 121-ball 148; an innings laced with 15 fours and 1 six.

It still proved to be the second-best innings of the day after Australian wicketkeeper-opener Allysa Healy's breathtaking 170 (138), which set up the former world champions on the course of their 7th 50-over title.

"After the first match, getting so close, I guess the disappointment was something that stuck with me. Getting a century against the top-ranked team was special, so it's weird how it's worked out and against Australia," said Sciver, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

"With my batting over this tournament, I felt pretty confident, and I'd probably not done as well as I had expected having felt that way, so it's nice to end with a good score, but it would have been nicer to have the trophy," she added.

Chasing 357 to win, England's top-order faltered again, leaving the defending champions on the brink at 3-86.

While Sciver kept blazing away at one end, England kept losing wickets at the other. However, she got support from Charlie Dean and Sophia Dunkley, but that wasn't enough to pull off a heist.

"When Charlie Dean was there, we had a really good chat. If we were there with two or three overs to spare, we knew that it would be a big ask, but there would be a chance we could get over the line," she said.

"You could tell that the Australians were really keen on taking our wicket and changing the momentum again because we did have a bit of momentum, I guess," she added.

She also delved into her mindset while chasing such a big total.

"When you're chasing, the mentality of scoring runs takes care of itself. You know that you need to be out there for a long time and pick up boundaries where you can. Luckily, that seemed to come naturally, but it just got a bit too much at the end."

Australia eventually won the final by 71 runs, adding another trophy to their overflowing cabinet.