As the much-anticipated Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 kicks off, the team preparing to face the reigning champions, Australia, New Zealand captain Sophie Devine expressed both excitement and strong determination. Despite Australia’s formidable reputation, the team remains confident and focused on playing their own style of cricket.
Devine reflected on the significance of facing Australia: “We love any opportunity that we get to play against Australia, sort of like our big sister. We’re really excited about that and come game day both teams start on zero, so again, really excited for the opportunity.” This captures the respect for the champions alongside the eagerness for a fair contest.
Preparation has been thorough, with a strong emphasis on the middle order’s recent form. As noted, “The middle order has been going considerably well. Maddy Green is again scoring hundreds,” highlighting key batting contributions beyond the top order.
The team acknowledges the challenge of playing in Indian conditions, where run scoring on turning wickets will be crucial: “It’s up to everyone. We can’t just rely on the top four, we need the middle order, there’s going to be crucial runs scored by the lower order as well at some stage during this tournament.”
The uniqueness of the tournament conditions adds a layer of unpredictability. The matches are being held at venues hosting women’s ODIs for the first time, such as Indore.
The players are embracing the challenge: “I guess that’s the interesting part of this World Cup is there hasn’t been much women’s cricket played at many of these venues. And for us here, it’s pretty exciting that we get to be part of history as the first women’s ODI game to be played here in Indore.” This brings both pressure and motivation to perform.
Fitness and team options remain strong as the tournament begins. When asked about availability, Sophie responded, “Yes, we’ve got one player that we’re just managing at the moment, I’d rather not say who that is, but just one player that we’re managing at the moment. But everyone else is going great.”
The squad boasts diverse bowling options, especially in spin, which will be a significant factor on Indian pitches. The focus is on executing skills and game plans: “For us, it’s just a case of we know the plans that we want to execute against a team, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s Australia or India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka. If we execute the plans that we’ve got in place that we believe are going to be right, I think we can beat any team in this competition.”
As their opening match approaches, the overall mood is optimistic yet focused on the fundamentals. Winning against Australia would be a great start, but New Zealand’s primary aim is to play their cricket confidently and consistently over the month-long competition.
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