King's spin makes Australia queens of the middle overs

24 Oct 2025 Scott Bailey (AAP)

One key factor in Australia's game is helping their push to claim a second straight ODI World Cup, and Alana King's 3-38 from her past 20 overs highlights it

Alana King's legspin has helped turn Australia into the middle-overs queens, with data showing how winning that period is fuelling their ODI World Cup defence.

Australia enter the crunch part of the tournament on Saturday with the top four already set and the last group game against South Africa to determine top spot.

The winners of that match will face hosts India in a do-or-die semi-final. The losers take on England in next week's other knockout match.

Coaching staff are yet to decide if captain Alyssa Healy will return from a calf strain for the South Africa match, with the in-form wicketkeeper-batter training lightly on Friday.

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Australia have not been convincing in every game, but remain undefeated, their depth allowing someone to stand up in each match.

The other factor has been the way they have taken games away from rivals between the 20th and 40th overs, with both bat and ball.

Data from every completed game of this year's World Cup shows no team scores quicker that Australia's run-rate of 6.59 through the middle overs.

And no other team takes more wickets in that period either, with the defending champions claiming them at the rate of one every 32 balls.

King has been central to that, as illustrated by the combined 3-38 she has taken from 20 overs in the past two games against Bangladesh and England.

Bowling long spells through the middle, Australia have also been able to build pressure around King's spin on wickets that were always expected to favour her.

"I'm just trying to bowl my best ball and ... extract as much as I can out of the wickets," King said.

"We know sometimes they're not going to offer as much.

"But once you do (get a lot of spin), it's just adjusting your plans ever so slightly."

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Australia's desire to better use their batting depth is also helping, with their middle-over run-rate far superior to next-best New Zealand's 5.75.

Ashleigh Gardner has hit two centuries batting at No.6, while Beth Mooney has a ton at No.4 and Annabel Sutherland a score of 98 not out at No.5.

It comes after a reset of tactics following last year's semi-final exit at the T20 World Cup, with batting geared towards leaving no runs in the sheds.

"Knowing that we genuinely bat all the way down the order gives us middle-order batters the flexibility to keep playing freely," Gardner said.

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"Some people are batting No.7, No.8 or No.9 who probably open for their state sides or who bat really highly in their WBBL teams.

"It's about knowing we have people to come in behind us. It just gives us a lot of confidence as middle-order people.

"We come in at four down for not many, (or) four for heaps.

"It's being able to adapt really quickly and then being confident in ourselves to have the team success we desire."

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