Indian umpire Vrinda Rathi will make history as the first Indian woman to officiate an ICC Women's World Cup final.
The match takes place at Lord's Cricket Ground on Sunday, July 5, 2026.
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Hosts England face Australia in the championship decider. Rathi will stand on-field alongside Jacqueline Williams.
This marks only the second time an Indian umpire has officiated an ICC World Cup final. The first was Ram Babu Gupta in 1987.
Rathi, 37, is from Navi Mumbai. She transitioned from a scorer to an umpire before rising through domestic and international ranks.
Former BCCI umpire Ganesh Iyer recalled encouraging her. "She was a scorer originally.
Then, she became an umpire at my insistence. 'You can have a career in umpiring,' I told her."
In 2014, Rathi cleared the umpires exam conducted by the Mumbai Cricket Association. Four years later, she passed the BCCI umpires exam.
In 2020, she and Narayanan Janani were promoted to the ICC Development Panel of Umpires.
Both teams enter the final with six-game winning streaks. Australia defeated the West Indies in the semi-finals, while England beat South Africa.
Australia batter Phoebe Litchfield said the hosts will carry more pressure. "I think so," she said.
"Pressure, it's so fickle, right?"
Litchfield added that England would likely relish the atmosphere.
"It's all what you feel, but I think as a home side, I don't know what it feels like, but I think they're probably just going to relish it."
