Nat Sciver-Brunt took over as captain following England's Ashes defeat in Australia. Belief comes and goes. While following a generation of England teams, it was always there. More recently, there have been times when it has seeped away. Times when Australia looked too good. World Cups held in places where England never win. But belief is back, building the sense of excitement before England women's biggest cricket match for almost a decade.

While the eyes of the sporting world have been on Dallas, Boston and Chelsea nightclubs, Charlotte Edwards' England have eased their way into Sunday's T20 World Cup final against Australia. Little fuss. Their fielding whoopsies seemingly behind them. On Sunday, England have a real shot at winning their first silverware since 2017 – and you will not have to stay up beyond 1am to witness it. Organisers ease concern of clash between warm-ups and Rita Ora set.

Do Australia have mental edge over England before final? England's semi-final victory over South Africa was their best performance in three years, possibly longer ago than that, but there was a point when England's campaign teetered before it began. Six weeks ago, already 1-0 down in a series against India, they were facing defeat against India in Bristol until Freya Kemp whacked 39 runs in 13 balls to set up a win. Since then, eight matches and eight wins. From a mood-ruining defeat to a first World Cup final in four years. The figure at the helm of England's turnaround – and it is a turnaround after a group-stage exit at the last T20 World Cup and the 2024-25 16-0 Ashes defeat - is Edwards.

The immense former captain, who began her 20-year international career playing in skirts and long socks but dragged the women's game in England into the professional era, was unceremoniously dropped a year before England's last World Cup win. With coach Mark Robinson wanting to mould a fresh team, Edwards watched Heather Knight lift the 50-over World Cup – a seminal moment for the women's game in the UK – from the commentary box. Not wanted for 2017, she is the coach England needed for 2026.

And the view inside the England camp is they could have done little more to this point. Danni Wyatt-Hodge is the tournament's leading run-scorer and their bowling attack looks slick, albeit with a slight concern around the lack of new-ball wickets. Heather Knight has banished any doubts her best days are gone and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt's form appears to have been unaffected by three games out through the group stage with a calf injury. Should she score runs in an England win, Magnetic Resonance Therapy may become part of this country's rich sporting lore.

Edwards has remained calm throughout her tenure. She was in charge for last year's 50-over World Cup and after England's semi-final exit at the hands of South Africa resisted calls for a changing of the guard. This video cannot be played.

Highlights: Superb England beat South Africa to set up World Cup final against Australia. Edwards posed the question – at the start of the year she challenged England's youngsters to push for places – but did not panic. Twelve of this year's squad played in 2024. The same cricketers are playing better now. But for all of England's promise, Australia will arrive on Sunday as favourites.

The 16-0 Ashes win was only 18 months ago and while England have won all of the World Cups held in this country, more relevant is Australia's dominance in the biggest matches. England have not beaten Australia in any of their five World Cup knockout meetings since the World T20 semi-final in 2009, when their spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman was one year old. Edwards was captain that day, as she was for England's last Ashes win in 2014.

And the Australians, who have played 10 World Cup finals since 2000 and lost only one, are not relying purely on the weight of history to carry them to a seventh T20 World Cup. The great Ellyse Perry, who appears to be winning her race to be fit, said Edwards would "not allow" England to be beaten before taking the field. "We actually haven't mentioned the Ashes too much," captain Sophie Molineux said. "We've probably looked at a little bit of footage used from the Ashes, but different conditions - and they were playing a different style of cricket."

Sciver-Brunt was similarly dismissive, though her words pointed to England's improved mood. "The personnel we have now is quite different – maybe not in who they are, but where we are as a side and what we've worked on," Sciver-Brunt said. "The feeling around the group is very different from that Ashes trip. I'm sure a lot of people have tried to forget how we felt. But we knew we needed to move forward and learn from that trip. A lot of hard work needed to be done and where we've got to now."

It means talk of the Ashes can wait, until the urn is next up for grabs on these shores in 2027. Sunday, with Lord's sold out again, will be an epic occasion in its own right. That Sunday in 2017 was all about showing the growth of the women's game in front of the world, but we are beyond that now. Fifa's U-turn on Saturday morning means an enticing contest will get the spotlight it deserves rather than being pitched against the football.

For England it could kick-start the Edwards era and give her a moment at cricket's home she deserves more than anyone else. Perhaps just as important, after the Ashes and everything that followed, win or lose, England are a team to believe in again.

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