The ICC Women’s World Cup is synonymous with Australia. The nation has won a record seven titles, including three of the past five editions. Yet, captain Alyssa Healy is taking nothing for granted.

“You have labelled us favourites, so thanks for that. But I don’t necessarily think that’s the case,” Healy said on Friday at the Captain’s Day event here.

“India in its home conditions is going to be really, really tough to beat, along with a couple of captains sitting alongside (England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt and New Zealand’s Sophie Devine). I have a firm belief that this is going to be the tightest World Cup that we’ve been a part of.”

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Kiwi Devine said that the quality of the pitches and the outfields will make for engaging cricket.

“When you played here five, ten years ago, you knew it was going to be turning wickets. Whereas, as you’ve just seen in the Australia-India series, they scored nearly 800 runs (781 in Delhi), which shows that the quality of the pitches here has been outstanding. And the outfield is always lightning quick.”

“At the start of the tournament, it might be flat tracks and big runs on board, but spin will certainly come into play at some stage. That’s something everyone’s aware of.”

Published on Sep 26, 2025