Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 26 : Ahead of her side's ICC Women's World Cup title defence, Australian captain Alyssa Healy said that defending the title would not be easy and called the tournament the "toughest World Cup we have been a part of".
Healy was speaking during the Captains' Day in Bengaluru ahead of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup opener between India and Sri Lanka in Guwahati. Aussies, the seven-time champions, will be gunning for their record-extending eighth title.
Speaking during the captain's day, as quoted by ICC press release, Healy said, "Defending a title is not easy. I think every team is here to win the World Cup. We know what we need to do to try and achieve that. You have to beat every single side in the world to lift that trophy, which is really exciting. We're really looking forward to that challenge. I believe this is going to be the toughest World Cup we have ever been a part of. Australia has a rich history in this format and in World Cups, but I think every single team is going to be tough to beat."
In 17 World Cup clashes, Healy has scored 607 runs in 14 innings at an average of 50.58 and a strike rate of 108.97, with two centuries, three fifties, and a best score of 170. Aussies are heading into the tournament with a 2-1 series win over India in the host nation.
Since their win in the 2022 edition, Aussies have played 31 ODIs, winning 26 and dropping just four, while one ended in a no-result.
All-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, the captain of the two-time champion England side, which last won the title by beating India in a thriller by nine runs back in 2017, appreciated the energy, love and support of fans in India as something "never experienced before".
"So, I think the matches here in India are going to be greatly watched, and that is really exciting as a player. We have some highly skilled and talented young players who have not experienced a World Cup before. Sometimes, when you have not experienced it, you don't know what to expect, so those expectations from before are not there. So, I think the youth on our side can balance well with the experience. I believe the quality of cricket in this tournament is going to be really exciting," she added.
Experienced New Zealand batter and skipper Sophie Devine would be aiming to end her side's WC title drought, having last won the 50-over edition in 2000 and having captured the T20 WC last year for the first time ever.
Devine said, "It is certainly a nice feeling to have that confidence and the belief that we can win world events. I think for us, that is really important to know. It is a different format. Everyone starts back on zero. So, for us again, like both Alyssa [Healy] and Nat [Sciver-Brunt] said, we are here to win this trophy, and you have got to beat everyone in this competition. We have got to be at our best. I think it is the opportunities that are provided for women's cricket; it has been pretty crazy to think at the start of my career. I think the next step is to make sure that it is a truly global game and that all boards across the world are provided with equal opportunity to be able to play more cricket."
Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana said that the side has an advantage playing all their matches in Colombo under the same conditions.
"This familiarity will work in our favor. Yes, definitely, our main goal is to finish in the top four. I believe the conditions in Sri Lanka are similar to those in Pakistan, so we are familiar with the exact conditions," she added.
South African skipper Laura Wolvaardt, another team yet to win a major title in T20 and ODI format in women's cricket, said that in tournaments like these, every team is a "big one".
"I think there is no sort of single team or two that are set up to win it. In these conditions, it really brings a lot of the subcontinent teams into the game, so I think our strategy for the tournament will really just be to take it one game at a time and not think about big names," she added.
India plays Sri Lanka in the opening match in Guwahati on 30 September, while Australia start their defence of the title a day later against New Zealand in Indore. Visakhapatnam, Navi Mumbai and Colombo are the other cities where the round-robin tournament will be played.