The Australian women’s cricket team walk into every tournament carrying the favourites tag. With seven 50-over world titles, a tight hold on the top rank in ODIs, and just one loss in 13 matches in the last 18 months, their dominant record is the envy of most sporting teams. It will only add to the expectations of defending their crown at the ICC Women’s World Cup starting on Tuesday in India and Sri Lanka.
Pressure naturally follows such a reputation, and losing isn’t an option. One blip is enough to cause a reckoning and bring a flurry of questions from outside. Australia’s only loss last summer denied them a fourth-straight T20 World Cup title. With one trophy already gone from their possession, Alyssa Healy’s side will be under added heat to hold on to the one-day title.
The Australian winter would have been quickly forgotten when the group landed in intensely hot and humid conditions for the three-match series against India in September. The first game in New Chandigarh saw several players struggle with cramps and exhaustion. But gulps of pickle juice and the opposition’s sloppiness helped Australia cruise to a victory in their first ODI in eight months. The tables quickly turned as the tourists slumped to a 102-run defeat – their biggest-ever in the format – two days later.
The comeback was as swift. Australia defended their joint highest-ever total of 412 in the series decider in Delhi, where Beth Mooney’s 138 off 75 escaped getting overshadowed by a Smriti Mandhana masterclass. The highs and lows of the series provided an opportunity to learn before eyes shifted to the big prize on the horizon.
The 15-strong squad named by the Australian selectors for the World Cup looks almost identical to that which blanked England, India and New Zealand, the next three best-ranked ODI sides, last season. Despite the group’s stability, however, they had gone six months without playing together before heading to India. Ten of Australia’s squad were involved in The Hundred in England. Another four, including captain Healy and her deputy Tahlia McGrath, got valuable game time in last month’s Australia A v India A series in Queensland.
But their dress rehearsals as a unit before they start their title defence have been limited to four outings in India. While the bowlers were tested by the batting-friendly conditions, the batters made the most of their time in the middle. Phoebe Litchfield followed her tournament MVP run in The Hundred with an 88 off 80 in the opener. Allrounder Annabel Sutherland, who was the second-highest wicket-taker in the English league, also got runs under her belt in the first two games. They were both managed during the India series with minor injuries, but the biggest blow came in the form of a calf strain to Grace Harris, ruling her out of the World Cup. Harris, who was seen as an explosive middle-order option, has been replaced by allrounder Heather Graham.
Australia’s four-wicket loss to England in the official World Cup warm-up game on Sunday, when the rejigged batting order collapsed within 35 overs, is not likely to cause panic. Instead, it should act as a timely assessment of the potential areas of improvement, particularly with the bat.
This is Australia’s third time in India in the last three years. Most of the group has also played in the country’s Women’s Premier League since its launch in 2023. But the side has not played at any of its three league-stage venues for the World Cup – Indore, Visakhapatnam and Colombo – in the last nine years. More unfamiliar conditions could test the reigning champions if they find themselves in the semi-final to be played at Guwahati. However, should they make it to the final at Navi Mumbai, they will have plenty of experience from their recent tours to bank on.
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With their wealth of all-round options and collective experience, Australia should feel confident of tackling any conditions presented to them. From run machine Beth Mooney and the exciting young stroke-maker Litchfield, to opening bowlers who can swing the ball opposite ways and vary the pace, the side boasts of depth and variety in every department.
Having two quality leg spinners in Alana King and Georgia Wareham is a luxury. Add to that the left-arm orthodox spin of Sophie Molineux, who is returning from a knee injury, and the world’s top-ranked allrounder, Ash Gardner, with her offies, and it becomes a lethal attack on surfaces that offer any assistance to spin, a traditional feature of many subcontinent venues. Healy’s fitness through the long tournament will be crucial. She has had multiple injury issues since the T20 World Cup, where her absence left the side reeling to fill her three roles of opener, wicketkeeper and the skipper.
Australia will be looking to become the first team to defend the women’s one-day title this century, but with five World Cup debutants, Healy and McGrath’s side is very different from the one that lifted the trophy in 2022 under retired greats Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes. The world in which they will fight for the title is also a changed one. The women in green and gold remain the dominant force, but the gap between them and the rest is no longer so wide.
