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The key game: Handle the pressure, get the job done
The closely-matched teams mean that winning the Women’s ODI World Cup will come down to the little things
New Delhi: With the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 set to begin in India and Sri Lanka next week, the leaders of the eight teams got together on captains’ day in Bengaluru and Colombo to speak about preparations, expectations and what this edition could mean for women’s cricket.
For India, the occasion carries extra weight. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur admitted the excitement of playing a home tournament comes with pressure, but one her side is ready to embrace. “Home World Cup is always special as I mentioned. We are really working hard to improve our cricket, to improve day by day,” she said. “We have a lot of expectations, firstly from ourselves and then I know we are going to see a lot of fans in the stadium. They will cheer for us and I am sure we will give our best.”
Harmanpreet also admitted that her 171* against Australia in the 2017 World Cup, and their landmark campaign where they reached the final helped look at the game differently. “That really changed a lot of things back home in India. And hopefully, this World Cup will create more good memories.”
Australia’s Alyssa Healy, who will be leading the defending champions, noted that the field is stronger than ever. “I don’t want to single out a team. There are seven other teams that have a red hot opportunity of winning this World Cup,” she said. After a high-scoring bilateral series against India, Healy highlighted the margins that separate sides. “It’s quite literally who can handle the pressure for the longest that is going to get the job done. I would love to say us, but I think any team has a real chance.”
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, who piled on an unbeaten 122 against India in the warm-up match, spoke about her team’s blend of fresh faces and seasoned campaigners. “We have got some highly skilled and talented people coming through that haven’t experienced World Cups. Sometimes when you haven’t experienced it, you don’t know what to expect,” she said. “The youth on our side can be balanced out by some of the oldies. The team who can handle the pressure for the longest and just get over the line in those games will come out on top.”
New Zealand’s Sophie Devine, for whom this World Cup is a bit of a swansong, reflected on the progress of the women’s match through improved playing conditions. “I actually think the conditions and the pitches that we play on now… five or ten years ago, you knew it was going to be a turning wicket. Whereas as you have just seen in the Australia-India series, they scored nearly 800 runs [in the series], which goes to show the quality of the pitches here have been outstanding,” she said. Devine anticipates that there will be some adjustment needed from teams to sustain – flat tracks early in the competition could give way to spin-friendly surfaces eventually.
For Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu, the World Cup represents both opportunity and ambition. “We never made the finals in the 50-over or T20 World Cup, so this is a really good opportunity. If we can bring our best cricket in the tournament, we can make the semi-finals,” she said.
Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, meanwhile, believed familiarity with the conditions could give her side an edge in their fixtures in Colombo. “The Sri Lankan conditions and Pakistan conditions are similar, so we know the exact conditions. We have a great advantage to play here and execute our skills,” she said.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt pointed to her team’s recent near-misses as motivation. “We made the finals in ICC events in two different formats, hopefully we can take the learnings from those two losses and go one step further this time. If we can just stay calmer if we do reach the final again, then hopefully, we can go one step further.”
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana spoke about the wider growth of the game in her country. “This is a very good opportunity for all of us and we all know that we wanted to promote cricket back home and nowadays people are showing more interest in women’s cricket in Bangladesh.”
With captains of the teams confident and raring to go, the stage is set for a closely contested World Cup.
