Australia captain Alyssa Healy reflected that her team had done that to themselves a little after they failed to defend a total of 338 in the Women’s World Cup semi-final against India in Navi Mumbai. At one stage, Australia were 220 for 2 in the 34th over and seemed on course for a score well beyond 350, but a late collapse saw them bowled out for 338 in 49.5 overs.
On the field, the team’s performance dipped further as they dropped three catches, including two off Jemimah Rodrigues, who went on
to make an unbeaten match-deciding 127 off 134 balls and guide India to victory. The result meant that India Women secured a place in the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup final, where they will meet South Africa Women at the same venue on Sunday, November 2.
"Good contest in the end. Probably reflecting on that, we did that to ourselves a little bit. It's probably the first time that I've felt like we've done that. So, we probably didn't finish off with the bat, didn't bowl that great and dropped all our chances in the field, and still hung in there until the second last over. So, I mean, we can take something out of that, but ultimately, outdone in the end,” said Healy after the game as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
"I think we created enough [chances]. We created pressure. We created opportunities. We just weren't able to capitalise. And, you know, I'm at fault for that as well, and I think that's something that Australia really prides themselves on. We kind of let ourselves down in that regard today. So that's probably why it's disappointing. It felt a little bit similar this time last year, sort of going out playing, you know, not the way that we wanted to play. So we'll learn from that. We'll grow. And I think our one-day cricket will hopefully improve since then,” she added.
Despite the disappointment of the semi-final defeat, Healy expressed pride in Australia’s overall campaign at the marquee event. She commended the next generation of Australian players for their performances throughout the tournament, making special mention of Phoebe Litchfield, whose brilliant 119 in the semi-final ultimately went in vain.
"I think we've played some unbelievable cricket. And, you know, ultimately, like we've been saying the whole time, the semi-finals is a knockout game. If you don't quite turn up on that evening, you know, anyone's going to get you. So there was so much to be proud of this World Cup. I'm really proud of our group and every single player's contribution. I think somebody came in every game and got a job done for us. So I think that's really cool. Yeah, that's probably why it stings a little bit more having this conversation with you right now, knowing that we are playing really good cricket, but we just weren't able to get over that hurdle,” said Healy.
"When you've seen players my age walk away from the game, it's kind of a weird experience to stand there and watch the next generation go about it. I thought Phoebe was sensational today, set us off really nicely at the top and then went on to make a hundred, which I thought was really crucial. Kudos to her. It's been fun to watch her unfold, and I think the next four years leading into the next ODI World Cup are going to be really exciting to watch. The other change in batting, I think, is around that No.6, No.7 position. I think Ash Gardner has completely owned that role this World Cup,” she added.
The wicketkeeper-batter also confirmed that this was her final ODI World Cup. She noted that she was looking forward to seeing how the team evolves in the 50-over format in the coming years.
"I won't be there now. There you go. That's the beauty of this next cycle - we're going to see that unfold. Obviously, there's a T20 World Cup in the middle of next year, which is really exciting for our group. But I think our one-day cricket is probably going to shift a little bit again. We'll learn from what we did wrong tonight. We'll grow, we'll get better. And the opportunity for some young players to get greater opportunities in this side is a really exciting thing for Australian cricket,” Healy concluded.
