After weathering heat, humidity and various niggles during a hard-fought ODI series against India, Australia now have a chance to freshen up for the World Cup
With phase one of their Indian Odessey complete, Australia’s World Cup squad will put the tools down in Bengaluru this week, ahead of their pre-tournament showdown against England.
The brief break will give several players the chance to overcome minor niggles – Annabel Sutherland (hip soreness), Darcie Brown (back spasms) and Phoebe Litchfield (quad) all missed the final ODI against India on Saturday – and allow the remainder of the 15-player touring party to freshen up after three hard-fought matches in Chandigarh and Delhi.
The ODI series against India delivered the challenging preparation the Australians had hoped for, both in the quality of the contest and the physically gruelling heat and humidity.
“I reckon there’s going to be some feet up … we haven’t played a lot of 50-over cricket in the last eight months, so I think it’s been a bit of a shock to the system to everyone,” Australia batter Beth Mooney said following the third ODI.
“We’ve got a few days off in Bangalore and a group of us have spent a lot of time there in the WPL, so we know a few different haunts around the place.
“Just getting away from the game, I think there’s a few golfers heading out to play golf – that won’t include me – but just a really good opportunity to spend some time together, get out, do some different stuff, and get away from the game for a few days before it gets hectic again.”
The remainder of the seven teams completing in the World Cup will play two warm-up matches apiece this week between September 25 and 28, with the sides split between Bengaluru and Colombo.
Australia’s decision to play just one warm-up match – against England on the 28th – was a call made to strike the right balance between acclimation and ensuring players remained fresh for the demanding schedule of the tournament proper.
When speaking to cricket.com.au in July, Australia coach Shelley Nitschke explained that the preceding ODI series against India was the major factor in the call to pass up a second warm-up game.
“The last game of the bilateral series is the 20th of September, then our warm-up game against England is the (28th), so that just gives us a bit of time to travel, recover and really get make sure we’re fresh to go for the World Cup on the back of the bilateral series,” Nitschke said at the time.
“We thought taking another couple of days and just having the one warm-up, to give ourselves every chance to be ready but to also be fresh, was the best approach, considering we’ll have already been there for two weeks getting used to the conditions.”
Australia’s warm-up game against England will be played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence 1 Ground. Initially, that scheduling meant they missed out on a chance to play at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, which was due to host a semi-final and the final, however, those knockout games have since been relocated to DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
2025 Women’s ODI World Cup
Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
Australia’s warm-up match
September 28: v England, Bengaluru, Bengaluru, 7:30pm AEST
Australia’s group stage matches
October 1: v New Zealand, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 7:30pm AEST
October 4: v Sri Lanka, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7:30pm AEST
October 8: v Pakistan, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 8:30pm AEDT
October 12: v India, ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam, 8:30pm AEDT
October 16: v Bangladesh, ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam, 8:30pm AEDT
October 22: v England, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT
October 25: v South Africa, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT
Finals
Semi-final 1: Guwahati or Colombo*, October 29, 8:30pm AEDT
Semi-final 2: Mumbai, October 30, 8:30pm AEDT
Final: Mumbai or Colombo*, November 2, 8:30pm AEDT
All matches to be broadcast exclusively live and free on Amazon’s Prime Video. A free trial is available here.
* All games involving Pakistan to be played in Colombo, including the semi-final and final if they qualify
