Aussies, India out to make statement with World Cup in mind

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and her team have the chance to make a serious statement ahead of next year’s ODI World Cup, as they look to leapfrog Australia in the race for a piece of ICC silverware.

The battle for the ICC Women’s ODI championship will likely be determined by the three-game series between two of the game’s fiercest rivals across the next week.

Australia currently sit on top of the Championship table on 28 points, ahead of England on net run rate and with three games in hand.

But India could leapfrog both teams and take out the silverware for the first time; they sit in third spot on 25 points and have nine games left to play – three more than Australia.

What is the ICC Women’s Championship?

 

The 10-team 2022-24 Championship determines which five sides, alongside hosts India, will gain automatic qualification for the 2025 World Cup.

 

The remaining four will need to head to the ICC's qualifying tournament to try and win a spot in the eight-team event.

 

The Championship runs across each ODI World Cup cycle and in this edition, each of the 10 teams play eight three-game ODI series – four at home and four away – meeting all bar one of the other Championship sides.

 

With this edition reaching its climax, Australia have already secured qualification for the World Cup with six games remaining, as have England and South Africa.

Their remaining series are against West Indies later this month and Ireland in January, and India will be fancied to sweep both series.

That leaves Australia needing to beat India 3-0, and claim a series win over New Zealand later this month – or rely on India either dropping a game or having a washout – if they want to win the Championship for a third consecutive cycle.

While the biggest prize is no doubt the ODI World Cup itself, which will be staged in India next October, both Australia and India would love to go into that tournament with the tag of ‘most successful team of the past three years’.

"We’re always looking forward and especially (with an) upcoming home World Cup in India," Kaur told reporters in Brisbane on Wednesday. 

"I'm feeling good, it's always a great feeling whenever we play in Australia.

"It's a very important series for us … whenever we play, we always look to win and it's the same for us.

"It's good to see that our team is doing well in ODIs and we just want to continue the same momentum."

The Championship was introduced in 2014, and Australia finished seven points clear on top of the table at the end of the inaugural cycle, but went on to be knocked out of the World Cup in the semi-finals.

They won 17 of 18 ODIs across the 2017-2020 cycle and finished eight points ahead of second-ranked England, in a cycle that was cut short before their final tour against South Africa due to Covid.

In the current edition, Australia have won 13 of 18 ODIs so far. They dropped two one-dayers to England during the Ashes, another to South Africa in February, and had washouts against Ireland and West Indies.

They have one series remaining against New Zealand later this month.

India, meanwhile, have played five rounds so far, winning 12 of 15 matches against Bangladesh, England, Sri Lanka, South Africa and New Zealand.

Harmanpreet Kaur's team will return home to play West Indies later this month, followed by Ireland in January.

"We want to win every game," Australia’s stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath said on Wednesday.

"We want to win every series, and we're pushing towards that World Cup so that's what's front of mind for us and it starts tomorrow.

"We're looking forward to getting out there and starting the series off really well."

Commbank Women's ODI series v India

Australia squad: Tahlia McGrath (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Darcie Brown, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Uma Chetry, Harleen Deol, Richa Ghosh (wk), Tejal Hasabnis, Minnu Mani, Priya Mishra, Priya Punia, Arundhati Reddy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Titas Sadhu, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh Thakur, Saima Thakor, Radha Yadav

First ODI: December 5: Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 3.20pm AEDT

Second ODI: December 8: Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 10.45am AEDT

Third ODI: December 11: WACA Ground, Perth, 3.20pm AEDT