Indore: Defending champions Australia will be forced to reshuffle their combination as they deal with the absence of injured skipper Alyssa Healy when they take on arch-rivals England in a top-of-the-table showdown at the ICC Women’s World Cup here on Wednesday.
Both teams remain unbeaten so far, with four wins and a washout each, but Australia sit comfortably atop the points table owing to a superior net run rate of 1.818 as compared to England’s 1.490.
A victory for either side will offer more than just the bragging rights, it will also provide a crucial psychological edge heading into the knockouts which are just around the corner.
But Australia have been dealt a major blow after Healy sustained a “minor calf strain” during training on Saturday.
Her absence leaves the team grappling with a selection headache, as she performs the triple role of captain, opener, and wicketkeeper.
“We’ve just come across news around Healy so trying to work out what our team looks like. So, sort of we’ll see how training goes today,” head coach Shelley Nitschke said ahead of the game.
Georgia Voll is expected to open alongside Phoebe Litchfield while Beth Mooney will take over the wicket-keeping duties.
Barring this setback, Australia have been clinical, if not flawless, through the group stage. They began their campaign with two batting collapses, but rescue acts from Ashleigh Gardner and Beth Mooney steered them past New Zealand and Pakistan.
“The girls have been fantastic at adapting and being able to get ourselves out of some sticky situations and having different players step up and perform has been really critical for us, not relying heavily on one or two players.
“So to see that has been really important for us,”
Since then, the top order, led by Healy, who struck back-to-back centuries, and the dependable Litchfield, has found its rhythm. But all eyes will now be on how the young Voll fits into that setup.
England, meanwhile, have struggled against swing, something that new-ball specialist Megan Schutt would look to exploit.
Australia also hold a massive psychological advantage over England, having annihilated them across formats at home earlier this year.
Having said that, England would be in high spirits following their thrilling win over India at the same venue couple of nights ago.
England’s bowlers held their nerve under pressure, with Linsey Smith proving to be a revelation, claiming the key wicket of Smriti Mandhana before defending 13 runs in the final over.
Their bowling attack, disciplined and well-rounded, has been their standout feature. With world’s no 1 bowler left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone and off-spinner Charlie Dean providing control, the unit has consistently bailed England out of tight situations.
However, concerns persist over England’s batting unit. Much of the run-scoring burden has fallen on seasoned campaigners Heather Knight and Nat Sciver-Brunt, who have anchored multiple innings between them.
Amy Jones showed grit with a fifty against India, but alongside fellow opener Tammy Beaumont, she has struggled to provide consistent starts.
The middle order, comprising Sophia Dunkley, Emma Lamb, and Alice Capsey, has endured a torrid tournament, averaging less than 10 between them.
Despite that, the experienced Danni Wyatt-Hodge continues to warm the bench, with head coach Charlotte Edwards remaining bullish about sticking to the same combination.
“We want to back the batting order that we selected at the start of the tournament because that’s the one we feel will give us success,” Edwards had said ahead of the clash against India.
