3 minute read

A crowd of up to 90,000 is expected for Sunday's Twenty20 final, a sharp contrast to Australia's 1988 women's World Cup win in front of about 5000 fans.

Meg Lanning is on the verge of becoming the third Australian cricketer to captain a World Cup title win on home soil.

If Australia can topple India in Sunday's Twenty20 final at the MCG, the star batter will join Michael Clarke and Lyn Larsen in the rare group.

While Lanning will lead her team out in front of a potential record crowd of more than 90,000, Larsen's Australians claimed the 1988 women's one-day cup with little fanfare.

Vice-captain Sharon Tredrea recalls about 5000 people turning up to the MCG to watch Australia storm to an eight-wicket win with more than 15 overs to spare.

"We just played cricket and there was a little bit in the paper. Maybe one story and that was about it," Tredrea told AAP.

"It wasn't the publicity machine or everything else that's going on now.

"But it was a big deal for us because few of us had a chance to play in Australia; we seemed to be touring all the time."

There are plenty of similarities with Lanning's team to the triumphant side of 32 years ago.

Despite entering the 1988 tournament as overwhelming favourites, Australia lost an early game against England, who they would eventually crush in the decider.

The current-day team struggled against India's spin in the opening group game, going down by 17 runs in Sydney on February 21.

Tredrea will be at the MCG cheering the Australians on, but thinks the game will be a lot closer than it was in 1988.

"It was great playing for us throughout (the 1988 tournament) but nowhere near the pressure that these girls are playing under," Tredrea said.

"They're under so much scrutiny and that comes with the professionalism.

"The trade-off is you get paid to play, but you're very open to scrutiny."

The last women's World Cup in Australia in 2009 saw the hosts struggle and fail to make the final.