England Win the World Cup

England's women cricketers may not attract the money or publicity generated by their male counterparts, but yesterday they were celebrating an achievement which has proved beyond the men in 34 years of trying: victory in a World Cup final.

England's defeat of New Zealand was made all the sweeter for taking place in Australia, where Andrew Flintoff captained the men to a 5-0 Ashes loss two years ago. It brought them their third World Cup triumph, following successes in 1973 and 1993. "We've repaid a lot of people that have shown a lot of faith in the girls," said the captain, Charlotte Edwards.

The heroine at the North Sydney Oval was the vice-captain, Nicki Shaw, who had originally been left out of the side but was reintroduced at the last minute when Jenny Gunn declared herself unfit. Shaw took four wickets - a career-best performance - as New Zealand were bowled out for a below-par 166, before scoring 17 not out to guide England to their win.

"I started the day crying, I finished it crying, but we won a World Cup in between," said Shaw, before paying tribute to her injured team mate. "It takes a big person to say they can't play in the World Cup final, so I'm really thankful to her."

Edwards' side has now won 18 games out of 19, reflecting the progress they have made since turning semi-professional just over a year ago - a unique privilege in international women's cricket.