Cricket powerhouse Australia will bid to win a seventh Women’s World Cup at the global tournament in New Zealand after suffering a shock loss at the 2017 semi-finals. Australia’s women have barely put a foot wrong since India knocked them out of the last four in 2017, beating world champions England at the recent Ashes and thrashing the Indians for the T20 World Cup title two years ago on home soil.
Although, the disappointment of their failed title defence in the 50-overs tournament in England five years ago still lingers as players are ready for the tournament starting Friday (March 4). “We know the heartbreak of not putting every single bit of effort into everything you do and the consequences of that,” Australia coach Matthew Mott said from the team’s camp in Christchurch.
“We have used (2017) a lot (as motivation) but I don’t think we need to use it for this tournament. We’ve been really consistent since that tournament but this is just another opportunity for the team to take it to another level,” he added. Australia kick off against four-time champions England in Hamilton on Saturday, looking to make an immediate statement against their traditional rivals.
“Yesterday was probably the perfect tonic for us” – read what our coach Matthew Mott had to say today as we look ahead to our #CWC22 opener against England! https://t.co/CObqPwZY6e pic.twitter.com/NiQtmqdRme
— Australian Women’s Cricket Team (@AusWomenCricket) March 2, 2022
England will again be led by 2017 World Cup-winning skipper Heather Knight and boast a raft of players who shared in that success, including player of the tournament Tammy Beaumont.
Beaumont has amassed more than 1,000 ODI runs since 2019, averaging 48.13 with the bat, and will be key to England’s chances in New Zealand.
England were routed by Australia 3-0 in the deciding ODI leg of the multi-format Ashes but Knight said they had moved on from the disappointment. “Australia are going to go in as favourites, but (2017) should give us a lot of experience of what it takes to be successful in these events, sometimes it’s just about getting over the line, and I think that’s what we did so well in 2017,” Knight said last week.
Here. We. Go.
Eight teams in New Zealand competing to hold the #CWC22 trophy aloft!
Will we see a new winner? pic.twitter.com/EO7v6dKWye
— ICC (@ICC) March 2, 2022
Twice, runners-up, India will be led by 39-year-old captain Mithali Raj, who will become the first player to feature in six editions. India’s preparations for the eight-team tournament have been far from ideal, losing a five-match ODI series 4-1 to hosts New Zealand in the lead-up. Talismanic all-rounder Harmanpreet Kaur has struggled for form but found some in the last ODI, scoring 63 in Queenstown to help India finish the series on a high note.
New Zealand will hope to emulate the team that claimed the country’s sole World Cup title in 2000 with a four-run victory over Australia in the final in Christchurch. They will have to do it with little crowd support at least initially, with venues capped at 10% capacity due to COVID-19, though the caps may ease as the tournament progresses.
New Zealand open the tournament on Friday against West Indies in Mount Maunganui. Bangladesh will play in the tournament for the first time, having qualified through their ODI ranking, along with Pakistan and West Indies, after a qualifying tournament scheduled for late-2021 in Zimbabwe was called off due to COVID-19.
