But the hosts, asked to bat first by Aussie captain Sophie Molineux, were left still believing in their chances after their own skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt helped bail them out with an unbeaten half-century in a battling unbroken partnership with Freya Kemp.
Whether their 80-run stand was rattled off at a quick enough pace, though, seemed open to great doubt, especially after the way Australia had pulled off a record chase of 170 against India at the home of cricket just a week before.
Still, the 30,000-strong crowd were left dreaming, as Kemp, who did well to lift the tempo by cracking an unbeaten 44 off 28 balls, and Sciver-Brunt, who proved the anchor with her 58no off 53 balls, kept them in with a shout.
But Molineux will be delighted with the superb effort of her attack, with four bowlers sharing a wicket apiece, the opening quicks, Kim Garth (1-20 off four) and Lucy Hamilton (1-19 off three) perhaps being the pick.
Winning the toss, Molineux hoped for her bowlers to assert early pressure. They did just that, with Hamilton taking her first World Cup wicket in just the second over, Georgia Voll taking a fine low catch at backward point to get rid of Amy Jones.
The key wicket of Danni Wyatt-Hodge was a bonus when Annabel Sutherland's delivery was called a wide, only for keeper Beth Mooney to convince Molineux to review as she believed the star England batter had nicked the ball into her gloves. She was right.
The captain chipped in herself, getting one past Alice Capsey's attempted reverse sweep just after the batter had given the hosts some hope by smashing 15 of the 16 that Ash Gardner gave up in her first over.
When Garth then trapped former captain Heather Knight lbw with a leg-cutter to leave the hosts 4-70, England were already looking desperate and needed the steadying hand of the skipper and the sprightly Kemp to give them a fighting chance.
Unchanged Australia were given a huge boost before the final with their great 35-year-old allrounder Ellyse Perry being passed fit after concerns about a quad injury.
Perry's availability to shoot for a seventh T20 title in her ninth final and 10th T20 World Cup appearance was terrific news for the team as she's been in scintillating form, nominated along with three others for the player of the tournament award after winning three player-of-the-match gongs along the way.
