Stars must bat big to retain title: Sthalekar

Australia must nail their batting if they are to lift the Women's World Cup for a seventh time at Lord's next month, former allrounder Lisa Sthalekar believes.

Led by captain and No.1 ranked ODI batter Meg Lanning, Australia boast a batting line-up that would be the envy of any of their opponents.

Openers Nicole Bolton and Beth Mooney have both scored half-centuries since arriving in the UK, while the middle-order, led by centuries from Ellyse Perry and Elyse Villani, also looks in ominous form.

But with a slightly less experienced pace battery for the month-long tournament, with Perry and Megan Schutt joined by uncapped pair Sarah Aley and Belinda Vakarewa, Sthalekar says it is up to the batters to lead the way.

"They've got to nail their batting," Sthalekar, a member of Australia's 2005 and 2013 World Cup-winning teams, told cricket.com.au's Unplayable Podcast.

"If they can blow teams off the park scoring something close to 300 every time, I think it will allow their bowlers, which I think is a little bit weaker than their batting, a chance to get into the tournament."

Quick Single: Aussies target WT20 revenge in Cup opener

A look at the numbers suggest an average score of 300 would very much put Lanning's Australians on the path to World Cup glory – in more than 40 years of ODI cricket, teams have passed the mark just 23 times in women's matches.

Australia are responsible for four of those, most recently in 2012, but their batting performance in a warm-up against South Africa on Tuesday, when they posted 5-325, suggests No.5 may not be far away.

Their batting may currently be the stronger side of their game, but the Southern Stars' bowling unit, which features the world's fifth- ranked ODI bowler in left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen, is nothing to be sniffed at either, and Sthalekar believes Australia's spinners are likely to play an important role in England.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see them pick up a large number of wickets, despite the English conditions," she said.

"Some of the girls are reporting that there's something in the wickets for spinners, but whether that transfers into the actual games we'll have to wait.

"But the batting, they have to nail."

Quick Single: World Cup pins lining up for bowling Aley

Unsurprisingly, Sthalekar is tipping Australia to take out the tournament, but while many expect England to also make the decider at Lord's on July 23, the allrounder suspects a different foe may line up at the home of cricket.

"New Zealand," she said. "I think they've got the experience and they've got the depth better than the rest of the teams.

"It's unfortunate that they have this choking mentality when it comes to World Cups, but I hope they're able to turn it around because they're a side that has been very close for a number of years."

Australia will begin their World Cup campaign against West Indies in Taunton on Monday, the first of three matches they'll play in the opening week of the tournament.

The round-robin event sees each of the eight teams meet once, with the top four teams to progress to the semi-finals in Bristol and Derby.

Women's World Cup 2017 Guide

Australia World Cup squad: Sarah Aley, Kristen Beams, Alex Blackwell (vc), Nicole Bolton, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Meg Lanning (c), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Belinda Vakarewa, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

Squads: Every World Cup squad named so far

Australia's World Cup schedule

View the full tournament schedule here

Warm-up matches

June 20: Australia v South Africa, Oakham

June 22: Australia v Pakistan, Leicester

Tournament

June 26: Australia v West Indies, Taunton

June 29: Sri Lanka v Australia, Bristol

July 2: Australia v New Zealand, Bristol

July 5: Pakistan v Australia, Leicester

July 9: England vAustralia, Bristol

July 12: Australia v India, Bristol

July 15: South Africa v Australia, Taunton

July 18: First semi-final, Bristol

July 20: Second semi-final, Derby

July 23: Final, Lord's