Aussies eager but watchful against unfamiliar opponent

04 Oct 2025 Laura Jolly, in Colombo

Australia has little recent history to bank on and are prepared to temper their approach for their second World Cup match against Sri Lanka tonight

Australia's top-order has made it their mission to own the Powerplay and that approach is unlikely to change – although the method may differ slightly – as Australia's World Cup campaign moves to unfamiliar conditions in Colombo.

Australia's World Cup squad got their first look at Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium on Friday afternoon, 24 hours out from their second game against co-hosts Sri Lanka.

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While the Australians were airborne on their charter flight from Indore to Colombo on Thursday afternoon, the venue was hosting its first match of the tournament, which saw Pakistan grind their way to 129 all out from 38.3 overs, a target Bangladesh sauntered to with little urgency in 31.1 overs for the loss of three wickets.

Pakistan's plans were thrown into disarray in the first over of their batting innings, when opener Omaima Sohail and first drop Sidra Amin – who was coming off knocks of 121no, 122 and 50no – were both dismissed for first-ball ducks by fiery Bangladesh quick Marufa Akter.

The consensus has largely been that the surface offered no particular demons that contributed to Pakistan's woes, however, it has also been expected that the sole Sri Lankan venue on the schedule will likely still not offer the same ultra-flat batting conditions as the majority of the Indian grounds, with spin expected to play a larger role.

With that in mind, Phoebe Litchfield said she and opening partner Alyssa Healy would need to take some time to assess once they arrive in the middle on Saturday – but added they would not shy away from their commitment to playing an attacking brand of cricket.

Since arriving in India, Australia have scored 1-77, 1-74 and 1-81 from the first 10 overs when batting first, with the in-form Litchfield the main architect of those strong starts.

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"The Powerplay is important. You can get off on a flyer, but you can also win or lose the game," Litchfield said when speaking to reporters in Colombo on Saturday.

"We know that we have to go out there with a positive frame of mind, try and take it on.

"But also know that if we can go out and not lose many wickets … it's going to put our team in a really good position.

"If the ball's in your area, go for it. We want to play an attacking brand of cricket.

"Sometimes that means some mistakes, but we've done the work so that hopefully that style of play is sustainable in this format."

And while the all-time average first-innings score at R Premadasa Stadium from its 22 women's ODIs is 212, recent results indicate the current par score may be far higher.

During a tri-series that featured India, South Africa and Sri Lanka earlier this year, India piled on 7-342 against the hosts, and 9-337 against South Africa, who scored 7-314 in response.

Across that seven-game tri-series, the average first-innings score was 275.

"I think we'll see when we get out there – I'm not going to swing from the limbs first ball, I'm going to assess the conditions, see how it's playing," Litchfield said.

"If we think it's a 300-run wicket, it's a 300 wicket, we'll play our way.

"But also know that we might have to adapt depending on the conditions that we face."

Gardner's balanced approach the blueprint for attacking Aussies

The last time Australia's women played at R Premadasa Stadium was in 2016 – a series that just four members of the current squad featured in – while Sri Lanka themselves are something of an unfamiliar opponent, given the last time the teams met in the 50-over format was in Brisbane in 2019.

They were not scheduled to play during the last edition of the ODI Women's Championship, and Sri Lanka failed to qualify for the 2022 ODI World Cup.

However, Australia and Sri Lanka have met at the past three T20 World Cups. Famously, Chamari Athapaththu's side had the Aussies 3-10 chasing 122 at the WACA Ground during the 2020 tournament, while Australia lost four wickets, including three in the Powerplay, chasing 93 in Sharjah last October.

"I think there's a beauty in the unknown at times," Litchfield, who is playing in Sri Lanka for the first time, said.

"I think the last time we played them was in the T20 World Cup last year, and it's a similar side.

"The beauty of a World Cup is you play every different side, and you have to prepare … you don't really get time to learn, you've got to come out firing.

"There's new conditions here as well, so there's a lot of challenges.

"But I think our group's got some awesome heads on our shoulders and are able to assess conditions and adapt to whatever that's thrown at us."

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu said that following the disappointment of their opening defeat to India, a return to home turf would give her side confidence.

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In that first match in Guwahati, Sri Lanka veterans Udeshika Prabodani and Inoka Ranaweera reduced India to 6-124, but lapses in the field ultimately saw their rivals post a match-winning 8-269.

"Unfortunately, the last game, we started pretty good against India (then) in the middle part of the game, we lost a couple of catches," Athapaththu said.

"And as a batting unit, we struggled in the middle overs.

"If we can (improve) those areas, I know we can give a good fight against Australia.

"We're playing against Australia in our home soil, so we have a little bit of an advantage, but at the end of the day, we have to play our best cricket."

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