Alyssa Healy has shrugged off her injury concerns to lead Australia’s charge ©Getty
Just days ago in Bengaluru, Alyssa Healy gave voice to what many have already sensed – that the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup may go down as one of the strongest yet, with more teams circling the chase for glory. In her own count, there are ‘seven others’ in the mix. This might come as vindication for teams like India and England who have strived to narrow the gap on the World Cup behemoths since the last iteration in 2022. But Australia are still seven-time champions, and holders with the same core squad. Any talk of progress, any claim of the gulf shrinking, will be put through its sternest examination over the next five weeks.
It’s not like the Australian juggernaut has slackened. Since lifting the last World Cup, they’ve maintained a steady gallop you would associate with them – 26 wins in 30 ODIs. But within this run, there’s been a slight stumble to their champions gait – a 102-run defeat (their heaviest by margin of runs) and the first instance of conceding 300 in an ODI.
They still enter the World Cup having recently beaten India in India, and with a mindset that belongs only to the very top. “I don’t think it’s quite in the Australian culture to get too complacent about things at any point in time,” Healy offered, her words carrying the edge of a warning and a reminder of Australia’s relentless hunger for trophies.
Seven ODI World Cups already sit in Australia’s overflowing cabinet. Yet an eighth would mean more than just another addition. Not since 1988 have Australia managed to win back-to-back ODI World Cup titles. Now Healy, with her band of winners, has the opportunity to end that wait – and to reiterate Australia’s supremacy in the 50-over format, lest there be any doubts.
How they qualified: Australia were the best of the five teams to qualify through the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25. They finished on top of that table with 18 wins and just three losses in 24 ODIs across the three-year period.
Squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
Australia head into another World Cup with a depth that feels self-sustaining. Sophie Molineux returns from a knee surgery, rejoining a spin cast rich in variation with Georgia Wareham, Ashleigh Gardner and Alana King. Phoebe Litchfield, all of 22, steps into her first ODI World Cup, as do Molineux, Kim Garth, Wareham and Georgia Voll. But they are all cushioned by the wealth of experience around them. Healy has left behind an injury-marked summer of 2024-25, while Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Gardner and Annabel Sutherland look primed for another pursuit of silverware. Even with this subtle refresh of the cast, Australia carry with them a sense of inevitability.
Keep an eye on:Phoebe Litchfield
The left-handed opener is young and adventurous, packing a quiver of innovative strokes at the top of the order. Litchfield has turned to sweeps and reverse-sweeps confidently across formats and tournaments, and carries a comfort against spin that should serve her well in the subcontinent. The 2003-born batter has 983 runs in 29 ODIs, at an impressive strike rate of 82.95.
Litchfield missed the last two ODIs against India in New Chandigarh earlier this month with a quad issue, but returned to action seamlessly with a 48-ball 71 in the warm-up game against England in Bengaluru.
Marquee match: A reunion against England, the 2022 finalists and long-standing adversaries, in the second half of October is loaded with narrative. But even that might pale in comparison to an earlier showdown against India in Visakhapatnam – a contest full of anticipation. Harmanpreet Kaur’s team is expected to go the distance and challenge Australia’s hegemony in this tournament. By her own admission, Harmanpreet leads a side brimming with belief – the kind that convinces them that Australia can be beaten on any day.
Their league meeting on October 12 could well be a prelude, a setting of tone and intent before their paths potentially cross again with the sword of elimination looming over both.
Where they finished in 2022: Where history often reserves a place for them in tournaments like these – on the podium with the shimmering trophy held aloft, for the seventh time.
Predicted finish: Champions.
Others might be catching up, but Healy’s team still walks in as the standard everyone else is chasing. Ten of the 15 players picked carry the experience and glory of 2022, and are seasoned in handling moments heavy with pressure and rich in stakes. Even if they’re run close, an eighth ODI World Cup title is likely to be loading in a little over a month’s time.
Full league stage schedule:
October 1: vs New Zealand, Indore
October 4: vs Sri Lanka, Colombo
October 8: vs Pakistan, Colombo
October 12: vs India, Visakhapatnam
October 16: vs Bangladesh, Visakhapatnam
October 22: vs England, Indore
October 25: vs South Africa, Indore
*All of the above matches start at 3 PM IST
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