Sydney: At the conclusion of the group stage of the Women’s World Cup and with the semi-finals on the horizon, one specific question has been doing the rounds throughout. How do you beat Australia? The defending champions have reached the knockouts unbeaten, the group stage culminating in their most convincing win so far as they bowled out South Africa, who are England’s semi-final opponents, for just 97.
According to BBC, between the 2022 World Cup and the start of this edition, Australia played 31 one-day internationals, winning 26 and losing four, with one washed out. They have not lost a World Cup game since being knocked out in the last four by India in 2017, which kickstarted this phenomenal run. However, those rare defeats have come against the other semi-finalists, with two against England in the 2023 Ashes and one each against India and South Africa.
It is the aforementioned batting depth which has set Australia apart from the rest for the past few years of dominance. They have the formidable luxury of Tahlia McGrath at seven and Georgia Wareham at eight, meaning that even if a top-order wobble occurs, they have a lengthy safety net. Crucially, they have the grit and mentality from positions 1-11 so that someone always steps up. Australia’s aggressive approach is showcased by their powerplay run-rate of 6.26, the highest in the tournament, and their strike-rates of 107.2 against pace and 92.3 against spin.
Skipper Alyssa Healy, alongside Ash Gardner, has scored two centuries so far in this World Cup, while Beth Mooney has one and Annabel Sutherland has an unbeaten 98. Sutherland has also been a standout with the ball, ending the group stage with 15 wickets, joint top with India’s Deepti Sharma.
However, one area where teams could target Australia is in the powerplay with the ball. Quicks Kim Garth, Darcie Brown, and Megan Schutt have struggled at times on surfaces which have either been flat or spin-friendly. Their seamers have taken the second-most wickets of the eight teams but both South Africa and England have been more economical in the first 10 overs.
Despite losing three games in the group stages, India, their semi-final opponents, still feel the most likely team to beat them. They are also the most recent team to beat Australia in an ODI, in the pre-World Cup series which Healy’s side won 2-1, and will have a lively home crowd in their favor.
England, meanwhile, are outperforming their rivals with the ball in both the powerplay and the death overs, but they are considerably far behind with the bat. South Africa has the best powerplay bowling record in terms of economy, which could present a challenge to Australia’s top-order strength.
A huge element to the challenge of coming up against Australia, though, is not one that can be conveyed through stats—it comes from the mental game. Whoever is to beat them knows they must put out a near-perfect performance under the highest pressure. Speaking of which, Australia mistakes in the field are rare, taking almost 77% of their catches, ranking second in the tournament behind England.