Australia’s preparations for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 have been far from flawless, but the defending champions remain confident their campaign is on track. Ranked No.1 in the world, the Aussies have now lost two of their last three outings, including a costly warm-up defeat to England just days before their tournament opener against New Zealand on October 1.
England’s victory in Bengaluru came on the back of an inspired performance from Sarah Glenn, who ripped through Australia’s batting with 5-32 from seven overs. Alice Capsey followed with an unbeaten 88 from 85 balls to seal a four-wicket win. For Australia, a collapse of 6-40 proved decisive.
Head coach Shelley Nitschke acknowledged the disappointment of the result but stressed that valuable lessons had been learned, “There were plenty of good takeaways, despite the unfavourable result,” she said.
One of the biggest positives came from the return of all-rounder Sophie Molineux, who had been sidelined for a year with a knee injury. The left-arm spinner bowled 5.3 overs, finishing with figures of 1-37, “It’s been (almost) 12 months, but just to have her out there bowling again, that’s a really good thing for us and our squad,” Nitschke remarked.
She also underlined the challenges of finalising a playing XI ahead of a long tournament, “We’ll sit down in the next couple of days and assess everything and see how we line up … we’re going to be faced with some pretty tough calls throughout the whole tournament.”
Glenn’s devastating spell was a reminder of England’s bowling firepower and why she earned her spot in the squad. Nitschke admitted Australia had faltered tactically against her.
“We just probably didn’t make some of the right choices … Sarah Glenn bowled really well, and we didn’t play her particularly well. So, credit to her, but we just needed to probably be a bit smarter with some of our decision making there.”
Australia’s time in India has already included four pre-tournament ODIs, giving them crucial experience in spin-friendly conditions. Nitschke emphasised the value of those games, “The bilateral series against India was a hard-fought series in some tough bowling conditions, and a real challenge … I thought that was excellent prep.”
The three-match ODI series against India offered contrasting outcomes that highlighted both vulnerabilities and strengths within the squad.
In the first match on September 14, Phoebe Litchfield led the way with a fluent 88 off 80 balls in a successful chase of 282. But the second ODI exposed Australia’s frailties, as they were bowled out for just 190 and crashed to a 102-run defeat—their heaviest in ODI history.
Undeterred, the Aussies roared back in the third game, smashing 412 to equal their joint-highest total. India’s reply was spirited but ultimately fell 43 runs short, giving Australia a morale-boosting win before the warm-up fixtures.
Australia’s World Cup journey begins with a marquee clash against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand. They will then face co-hosts Sri Lanka in Colombo on October 4, followed by a meeting with Pakistan at the same venue four days later.
(Quotes sourced from the ICC)
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