Australia ready for challenging Indian conditions in Women's World Cup: Alyssa Healy

Australia women’s cricket team captain Alyssa Healy has said that her team is ready for the challenging Indian conditions in the upcoming Women’s World Cup 2025. The mega event is all set to begin on September 30, with Australia starting their campaign on October 1 against New Zealand.

Ahead of the tournament, Australia will also take on India in a three-match ODI series from September 14. As the mega event draws near, Healy acknowledged the challenge posed by the Indian conditions but mentioned that they have a well-rounded squad to counter everything thrown at them.

"I'm looking forward to that obviously but the cricket conditions pose a different challenge to our group, which I think we are really well placed for. We've got so much depth in every area that whatever conditions are thrown at us, we'll be well placed to handle that. So, I'm really excited for the strength of the squad," Healy was quoted as saying by the ICC.

Furthermore, Healy also set her sights on winning back-to-back World Cup titles, calling the tournament the pinnacle of their sport. Australia are the most successful team in the history of Women’s ODI World Cup, having seven titles to their name. They’re also the defending champions of the tournament, having won the previous edition in 2022, beating England in the final.

"I don't think anyone has gone back-to-back for a while and there's a lot of those sort of milestones that we'd love to achieve. Winning World Cups is special, they're the pinnacle of our sport. So, we know we've got to go there and play consistently," she added.

The 35-year-old also recalled Australia’s semi-final loss against South Africa in 2024 T20 World Cup, which ended their three successive title-winning streak at the event. Healy expressed confidence in her group to produce good results collectively.

"It's probably where we fell short in the UAE (2024 T20 World Cup), we got done on one bad day. We know we need 10 good results to go our way. I feel like we are in a very good place to do that, and it will be really special for the group if that unfolds," said Healy.

Meanwhile, Australia have brought back Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham in their 15-member squad for the Women’s World Cup to bolster their spin attack. Ahead of the tournament, Australia will lock horns with England in the warm-up fixture on September 27.