SOPHIA Smale and her England women’s team stormed into Sunday’s T20 U19 World Cup final in South Africa with a great escape against Australia.

But after being dismissed for 68 by India, with the Wye Valley left-arm spinner scoring 11 tail-end runs, they couldn’t find a way back in the trophy match and had to settle for the runners-up spot.

England topped their group with a 95-run win over the West Indies on Thursday, with Monmouth School for Girls sixth former Sophia taking a vital wicket and a catch.

She clutched a chance off the bowling of Ellie Anderson to send opener Realeanna Grimmon back to the pavilion for four.

And she then dismissed top West Indies batter Zaida James to another catch by Davina Perrin for five to reduce them to 23/4 chasing 179/4 – her 10th wicket in the World Cup tournament and warm-up games – before their rivals finished their innings on 84-8.

Sophia, 18, who helped the Oval Invincibles win the women’s Hundred final last year when it was shown live on BBC2, was next part of a thrilling comeback win against Australia by just three runs in Friday’s semi-final.

England won the toss and elected to bat first with their explosive top-order batting line-up.

But they were facing an unscripted exit when reduced to 37-5, and the departure of skipper opener and tournament top scorer Grace Scrivens for 20 off 20 balls moments later (38-6) left them teetering on the brink.

Sophia - yet to bat before the semi - then joined Alexa Stonehouse at the crease, but had to settle for a cameo, scoring a single off six balls before falling to an unlucky lbw with England now 45-7.

But Stonehouse and Josie Groves then picked up the pieces, compiling a gutsy eighth-wicket partnership of 46 from 46 balls, the former top-scoring with 25 off 33 (two fours) and Groves chipping in with 15. That partnership was the main reason England got to 99 all out with a ball to play, which at least gave them a target to defend, particularly as the biggest total scored against them in the tournament beforehand was 103 by Pakistan.

Australia losing their first two wickets for just four runs then meant a cliffhanger was on the cards.

Player of the match Hannah Baker led the charge, the leg-spinner’s beguiling spell netting her figures of 3/10 off four overs, with skipper Scrivens supporting her with figures of 2/8 off 3.4 overs and getting the last wicket to fall by trapping Maggie Clark lbw for a duck.

Left-arm spinner Smale didn’t manage a wicket this time, but finished with figures of 17-0 off three overs.

The low run rate in the chase and Amy Smith’s run-a-ball 26 (three fours) kept Australia in the game, but she holed out to long-off off Groves’ bowling for the eighth wicket with the score on 77, making for a thrilling endgame.

The Aussies looked nailed on after Ella Wilson and Milly Illingworth inched them to 96, just three runs short of England’s target, with nearly three overs left.

But then Illingworth was run out for eight and with no further score in the next seven balls, Scrivens struck to give England the victory.

That put them in the final of the inaugural tournament, but a brilliant new-ball performance by India was followed by a calm run-chase as their rivals cruised to victory with seven wickets and six overs to spare.

Opening bowlers Titas Sadhu and Archana Devi reduced England to 22/4 after six overs, with key batter Scrivens one of those to fall.

Wickets continued to tumble, with Sophia coming in at No 10 with the score on 53-8.

And with runs desperately needed, she managed to hit two fours in a whirlwind 11 off six balls before falling next ball to a catch, with England all out for 68 in 17.1 overs. It was going to be an uphill task to stop the Indian batting line-up now, and so it proved.

Shafali Verma’s aggressive 15 from 11 balls cut into the target early on. But the removal of both openers gave England hope, Hannah Baker getting Verma caught, before Scrivens removed Shweta Sehrawat.

Sophia bowled two overs for 16 runs, but couldn’t add to her wicket tally on the day.

And Soumya Tiwari and Gongadi Trisha guided India to within one hit of the target when the latter went for glory and was cleaned up by Alexa Stonehouse.

That only postponed the inevitable, with Tiwari knocking a single to see it through to 69-3 with an unbeaten 24.