Captain of Australia Alyssa Healey reflected that her team had done a bit of that to themselves after failing to defend a total of 338 in the Women’s World Cup semi-final against India in Navi Mumbai. At one point Australia were 220 for 2 in the 34th over and looked on course for a score well above 350, but a late collapse saw them bowled out for 338 in 49.5 overs.
On the field, the team’s performance dipped further as they dropped three catches, including two off Jemimah Rodrigues, who went on to make an unbeaten match-deciding 127 from 134 balls to guide India to victory. The result meant India Women secured a place in the final of the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup, where they will meet South Africa Women at the same venue on Sunday, November 2.
“A good game in the end. We probably brought that on ourselves a bit. It’s probably the first time I feel like we’ve done that. So we probably didn’t finish with the bat, didn’t bowl that great and dropped all our chances in the field, and still stayed there until the penultimate. So I mean, we can get something out of that, but ultimately we end up being outmatched,” Healy said after the match, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
‘I think we have created enough [chances]. We have created pressure. We created opportunities. We just couldn’t capitalize. And you know, I’m to blame for that too, and I think that’s something that Australia is really proud of. In that respect we disappointed ourselves a bit today. So that’s probably why it’s disappointing. Last year it felt a little bit the same this time, kind of going out and playing, you know, not the way we wanted to play. So we will learn from that. We will grow. And I think our one-day cricket will hopefully improve since then,” she added.
Despite the disappointment of the semi-final defeat, Healy expressed his pride in Australia’s overall campaign at the big event. She praised the next generation of Australian players for their performances during the tournament, with special mention of Phoebe Litchfield, whose brilliant 119 in the semi-final was ultimately in vain.
“I think we’ve played some incredible cricket. And you know, at the end of the day, as we’ve said all along, the semi-final is a knockout game. If you don’t turn up all the way that night, you know, everyone’s going to get you. So there was so much to be proud of in this World Cup. I’m really proud of our group and the contribution of every player. I think in every game there’s been someone who has done a job for us. So I think that’s really cool. Yeah, that’s probably why why it stings a little more now to have this conversation with you, knowing that we’re playing really good cricket, but we just couldn’t get over that hurdle,” Healy said.
“When you’ve seen players my age walk away from the game, it’s quite a strange experience to stand there and see the next generation doing it. I thought Phoebe was sensational today, putting us at the top really nicely and then making a hundred, which I think was really crucial. Kudos to her. It’s been fun to watch her unfold, and I think the next four years leading up to the next ODI World Cup will be very exciting to watch. The other change in batting, I think that Ash Gardner has had full control over that role this World Cup.
The wicketkeeper-batsman also confirmed that this was her last ODI World Cup. She noted that she is looking forward to seeing how the team evolves in the 50-over format in the coming years.
“I won’t be there now. Please. That’s the beauty of this next cycle – we’ll see that unfolds. Obviously there’s a T20 World Cup in the middle of next year, which is very exciting for our group. But I think our one-day cricket will probably change again a bit. We’ll learn from what we did wrong tonight. We’ll grow, we’ll get better. And the opportunity for some young players to get bigger opportunities in this squad is really exciting for Australian cricket,” concluded Healy.
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