Refreshed after a mid-tour break, the Australian World Cup squad returned to the training track on Friday
Us, favourites? Aussies back to business for 'strongest' World Cup
Alyssa Healy has declared there is no danger of complacency from Australia despite their 50-over dominance, as their tilt at becoming the first team in 36 years to win back-to-back women's ODI World Cup titles ramps up.
The Australian squad enjoyed a four-day break in the bustling centre of Bengaluru following their 2-1 ODI series win over India, with players taking the chance to hit the fairways or check out the city's cafes.
But it was back to business on Friday as the group relocated to a new base close to the BCCI's Centre of Excellence near the southern Indian city's airport.
A hit-out under lights at the elite training facility was high on the agenda for the Australians, but not before Healy had completed her 'Captains' Day' obligations.
That included a panel discussion and press conference alongside rival skippers Harmanpreet Kaur, Natalie Sciver-Brunt and Sophie Devine, whose teams are also preparing for the World Cup in Bengaluru.
There, Healy was quick to eschew the 'favourites' tag – despite Australia's dominant record in one-dayers since they took out the 2022 World Cup, in which they have won 26 of 30 completed matches in the format – and instead thrust the spotlight onto hosts India.
"I think India in their home conditions are going to be really, really tough to beat, along with a couple of the captains sitting alongside us," Healy said.
"I don't think it's quite in the Australian culture to get too complacent about things at any point in time.
"But I feel like I'm part of a really special group at the moment that want to be better every single day.
"They're working to improve themselves, both on and off the field, which I think is another great place to be.
"So the fact that mindset is already in place just allows them to go there and enjoy the cricket on the field, and that's basically as simple as it gets together, we compete as hard as we possibly can, and hopefully the results go our way."
Regardless of the global rankings, history suggests it is no easy feat to win back-to-back women's ODI World Cups.
The great Australian sides led by Belinda Clark and Meg Lanning never managed it – you have to go all the way back to the Sharon Tredrea-led team of 1988, which completed Australia's three-peat of titles with victory over England in the final at the MCG.
"I think this ODI World Cup is going to be one of the strongest ones that I've been a part of and as skipper I'm really looking forward to that challenge," Healy continued.
"I think there's genuinely seven other teams that have a really red-hot opportunity of winning this World Cup.
'We just played a pretty fierce series against India over the last two weeks, very high scoring, very stressful as captains.
"It's quite literally who can handle the pressure for the longest that's going to get the job done."
Australia's preparations will continue in Bengaluru with a second training session on Saturday followed by a warm-up game against England, also at the Centre of Excellence, on Sunday.
With several players finishing the ODI series against India under injury clouds, Australia will hope Phoebe Litchfield (quad), Annabel Sutherland (hip soreness) and Darcie Brown (back spasms) can feature in that practice match.
Sophie Molineux is also a chance to play her first game since undergoing knee surgery in January after training strongly across the past fortnight.
Grace Harris however has returned to Australia, ruled out of the tournament with a calf strain, and her replacement Heather Graham is due to land in India late on Saturday night.
2025 Women's ODI World Cup
Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, 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 matches to be broadcast exclusively live and free on Prime Video.