Australia skipper to miss CWC25 clash against England

Australia have been dealt a blow ahead of their upcoming ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 fixture against England, with captain Alyssa Healy sidelined after sustaining a minor calf strain during a training session last Saturday.

She will continue to be evaluated ahead of Australia’s final group-stage fixture versus South Africa, scheduled for Saturday, 25th October.

In her absence, Tahlia McGrath will step in to lead the side.

Australia have already sealed their semi-final spot at the tournament.

Speaking on the injury, Australia head coach Shelley Nitschke hoped for the batter's return for the South Africa clash, with a semi-final showdown coming up as well following that.

"Obviously really unfortunate there for Midge [Alyssa Healy] with just a slight calf strain," said Nitschke at the pre-match presser.

"I think we're just going to keep assessing her day by day, and give her every opportunity to play the next game against South Africa and just see how that plays out with the rehab. Hopefully she gets (back) up."

The skipper has been in sparkling touch throughout the tournament, anchoring the batting for her team. She leads Australia’s run-scoring so far, amassing 294 runs in the competition from four games.

She smashed a brilliant 142 off 107 balls against India - her sixth ODI century and first as captain - which powered Australia to the highest successful chase in women’s ODI history.

Healy followed that up with an unbeaten 113* in a dominant 10-wicket victory over Bangladesh, marking her second consecutive hundred in the tournament.

Australia and England face off at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Wednesday, 22 October.

Click here to read article