Australia will use their three one-dayers against India as a chance to finetune ahead of the ODI World Cup defence
Aussies eye tweaks, but don't expect major changes: Healy
Alyssa Healy has ruled out any wild experiments for Australia in their upcoming ODI series against India, but expects her players to work on more subtle tweaks as they ramp up their World Cup preparations.
Australia will play their first international match since March, and their first one-dayer since January, on Sunday (6pm AEST, Kayo Sports) when they meet India in Chandigarh.
It is one of three chances the defending champions will have to familiarise themselves with local conditions before they travel to Bengaluru for their formal World Cup warm-up game.
Not much is expected to change from the side that swept India, New Zealand and England across the 2024-25 summer; Healy has brushed off her knee and foot injuries and will be a lock at the top of the order and behind the stumps, while Australia's top seven is also expected to remain unchanged.
"I think with the 15 players we've got, I think we could pick a best XI (from any of the) 15, so we're pretty lucky in that regard," Healy told reporters in Chandigarh on Saturday.
"Playing for Australia at any moment in time is important … no matter if there's points attached to it or not, so we'll be playing our best XI we can.
"But it's also a good opportunity for us to try a few different things and get some different combinations in place, looking ahead to what is a big four or five weeks after this series.
"Experimentation is probably a big word, but you might see a little bit of rotation."
The most variation should come across the bowling attack, with all three quicks – Megan Schutt, Kim Garth and Darcie Brown – likely to be given opportunities across the three games, while the three available spinners – Ashleigh Gardner, Alana King and Georgia Wareham – will get a good chance to acclimatise, with Australia's fourth option, Sophie Molineux, not yet ready to return from the knee surgery she had in January.
Molineux's comeback is likely to be in Australia's official warm-up game against England on September 28.
Despite that limited preparation, Healy suggested the left-arm spinner would be close to a walk-up start in the best XI, saying Australia had simply been "making do" without the Victorian during her time on the sidelines.
"She's in the frame for the World Cup, not quite ready yet for the ODI format (but) she's training really hard," Healy said of Molineux.
"We haven't really had her for a lot of cricket over the last little bit ... we've been able to cover her, I think is the best way to put it, but she's probably in our best XI when she's fit and ready to play, so we're looking forward to having her back."
Sunday's series opener will also mark Healy's official return to international cricket after she was forced to sit out the T20 tour to New Zealand in March due to injury.
The Aussie skipper made a successful return to elite cricket in Queensland last month, playing three T20s and three one-dayers for Australia A against India A, an experience that has given the 35-year-old confidence she is ready for the rigours of an ODI World Cup.
"Having the opportunity to play that series at home is huge, getting through six games of cricket in a really short space of time was a big tick for me after coming back from injury," Healy said.
"I'm really happy with how that progressed."
Qantas ODI tour of India 2025
September 14: First ODI, Mullanpur Cricket Stadium, 6pm AEST
September 17: Second ODI, Mullanpur Cricket Stadium, 6pm AEST
September 20: Third ODI, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, 6pm AEST
India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh Thakur, Arundhati Reddy, Richa Ghosh (wk), Kranti Gaud, Amanjot Kaur, Radha Yadav, Sree Charani, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Sneh Rana
Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicole Faltum, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Charli Knott, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
2025 Women's ODI World Cup
Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
Australia's warm-up match
September 28: v England, Bengaluru, Bengaluru, 7:30pm AEST
Australia's group stage matches
October 1: v New Zealand, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 7:30pm AEST
October 4: v Sri Lanka, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7:30pm AEST
October 8: v Pakistan, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 8:30pm AEDT
October 12: v India, ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam, 8:30pm AEDT
October 16: v Bangladesh, ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam, 8:30pm AEDT
October 22: v England, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT
October 25: v South Africa, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT
Finals
Semi-final 1: Guwahati or Colombo*, October 29, 8:30pm AEDT
Semi-final 2: Mumbai, October 30, 8:30pm AEDT
Final: Mumbai or Colombo*, November 2, 8:30pm AEDT
All World Cup matches to be broadcast exclusively live and free on Amazon's Prime Video. A free trial is available here.