Women's World Cup 2025: Alex Hartley's players to watch and team predictions

The Women's World Cup begins on Tuesday, with the formidable Australia defending their title from 2022, and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt's England searching for a first major tournament win since 2017.

India, who are hosting the tournament with Sri Lanka, are also in fine form and searching for their first World Cup win in either format of the women's game.

The eight-team 50-over tournament begins with the co-hosts playing one another in Guwahati at 10:30 BST (15:00 local time), with each team playing each other once before semi-finals and the final in Navi Mumbai on 2 November.

Former England spinner and 2017 World Cup winner Alex Hartley, who is part of the BBC Test Match Special commentary team, shares her predictions and a player to watch from each participating side.

After the Ashes disappointment at the start of the year, England have faced a period of upheaval with Heather Knight being removed as captain and replaced by Nat Sciver-Brunt, while legendary former skipper Charlotte Edwards took over as coach from Jon Lewis.

They started the home summer by thrashing West Indies in both one-day international (ODI) and Twenty20 formats, but fell short against a far superior India side, with two series defeats.

Sciver-Brunt is leading England in her first ICC tournament as skipper alongside being their most consistent batter and has resumed bowling in the warm-up matches after injury, but Hartley has chosen Emma Lamb as the one to watch.

Lamb had lost her England place under Lewis but was recalled after impressive domestic performances for Lancashire, finished the summer with 17 fifty-plus scores across all formats, and hit 81 batting at number five in the warm-up win over India.

"It is going to be an interesting tournament for Lamb. She has been the form batter in England this summer, with incredible consistency," said Hartley.

"I'd like to see her at the top of the order, but crucially she is a very good player of spin which could suit England in the middle, as their struggles against slower bowling are well known."

The defending champions are strong favourites to win back-to-back 50-over titles, having surprisingly missed out on the T20 crown last year.

With staggering batting depth, a seemingly endless pot of all-rounders and confidence to take from a 2-1 series win in India which preceded the tournament, it will take something spectacular to knock Alyssa Healy's side off the top.

They have lost batter Grace Harris to injury but it is not a huge blow as her place in the starting XI was not guaranteed, and she has been replaced by Heather Graham, but Hartley has selected top-order batter Phoebe Litchfield as her pick.

"Litchfield is now one of the most important players in Australia's top order and considering how stacked with talent and experience it is, that is such an achievement for a 22-year-old," she said.

"She must be a nightmare to bowl at with all of her switch-hits and reverse-sweeps, which she plays against both pace and spin, and she averages 87 in India."

It feels like India's golden opportunity with a World Cup mostly on home soil, and with the benefits of the Women's Premier League (WPL) - its franchise T20 tournament - starting to shine through.

The Indian grounds being used for the group stages (Guwahati, Indore and Visakhapatnam) are unfamiliar to them but they should enjoy the advantages of home crowds.

They outplayed England over the summer, particularly impressing with how much they have improved in the field and their athleticism.

Harmanpreet Kaur is a very experienced leader, their batting is beautifully led by Smriti Mandhana, and they were boosted by the return of seamer Renuka Singh Thakur during the Australia series.

But one of the most exciting talents to emerge against England was 22-year-old quick Kranti Goud, who overcame a nervous start on debut to finish with nine wickets in three matches including 6-52 in the series decider at Chester-le-Street.

"You can expect some inconsistency from Goud because she is still so raw, but her early impact has been so promising," said Hartley.

"She's got a really strong action, gets good seam movement and I love her confidence. The other teams won't know much about her yet, as we saw her take England by surprise, which could also be a key factor."

New Zealand delivered a huge surprise by winning the T20 World Cup in 2024, beating South Africa in the final after England exited in the group stage and Australia and India were beaten in the semis.

The White Ferns are the only team other than England and Australia to win a 50-over World Cup, having triumphed in 2000.

They boast world-class players in Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and Melie Kerr but have usually struggled for depth of talent in order to compete consistently.

Kerr is the star all-rounder with plenty of experience in India because of the WPL, and was also the leading wicket-taker of the T20 World Cup, but Hartley advises to keep an eye on fellow spinner Eden Carson.

She explained: "Carson doesn't always get the headlines or take bundles of wickets but she's become really important for New Zealand in terms of tying opponents down, with an economy rate below five in ODIs and below seven in T20s.

"I'm looking forward to see the bowling partnership between her and Melie Kerr. She's also a great personality, she's always smiling and brings a great attitude to the game."

South Africa have suffered back-to-back heartbreaks in T20 World Cups, reaching consecutive finals and losing both, and were beaten by England in the semis of the last 50-over edition.

Similar to New Zealand, they have star quality but often depend too heavily on their top players, including captain Laura Wolvaardt -one of the world's most consistent ODI batters - and fiery all-rounder Marizanne Kapp.

Former captain Dane van Niekerk reversed her international retirement and trained with the team before the tournament, but was not selected in the final squad.

But they are gaining more experience in franchise cricket around the world which has boosted their improvement significantly, and one of those to benefit is all-rounder Nadine de Klerk.

"Kapp has been South Africa's superstar for such a long time now but De Klerk has been able to take some of the pressure off her," explained Hartley.

"She's played over 100 times for South Africa now. As a bowler, she's consistent in the middle overs with plenty of variations and is a powerful striker with the bat.

"What I like most about her is her competitiveness, similar to Kapp, and she enjoys the big occasion - she took an important 3-19 in the T20 World Cup semi-final win against Australia."

Sri Lanka also have home advantage, playing most of their group games at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, where they can become accustomed to the ground and the conditions.

They are capable of a few surprises, particularly with a canny bowling line-up of spinners who starred in a shock T20 series win in England last year, but they have yet to reach a World Cup semi-final.

They play under the inspired leadership of Chamari Athapaththu, their most experienced and skilled batter, but struggle for contributions - particularly with the bat - when she misses out.

The 35-year-old has played 115 ODIs for Sri Lanka since her debut in 2010 and has become her country's talisman ever since.

"It's an obvious pick but you can't see Sri Lanka having much success unless Athapaththu has a brilliant tournament," said Hartley.

"She's so destructive at the top of the order, and is confident in taking on the best bowlers, but in ODIs she'll require some support from others in the line-up.

"She will need the others can chip in which will allow her to play her natural attacking game."

Pakistan could also benefit from familiarity of conditions like Sri Lanka, as they are based permanently in Colombo for this tournament because of ongoing political tensions between their country and India.

They lack batting firepower and depth but almost pulled off a chase of 292 against South Africa in their pre-tournament series, with a century for reliable top-order batter Sidra Ameen.

If the surfaces are slow and low, that could bring their bowlers into play as they boast plenty of spinners, and they have vastly improved in the field.

However, they are also dependent on captain and all-rounder Fatima Sana, who is Hartley's player to watch from their squad.

"She's only 23 and has only been appointed captain in the past year, but Sana is so important to Pakistan with how she leads from the front and how passionate she is," said Hartley.

"One of their strengths is how they play as a team despite not having the superstars like India, Australia or England. She is the one who brings them together in that way as well as being their most consistent all-round performer."

In a similar mould to Pakistan, Bangladesh are a side who lack explosive batters and power hitters, but depend on discipline and consistency instead.

They only just made it through the World Cup Qualifier, sneaking past West Indies to clinch the final spot by just 0.013 on net run-rate.

Bangladesh have also suffered from the schedule - those qualifiers took place in April, and they have not played since then.

Their games against the teams on their level, such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be competitive and closely fought, but it is more than likely that they will fall considerably short against the top four.

Their batting will rely heavily on captain and wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana Joty.

"Nigar takes on a lot of responsibility for Bangladesh, similarly to Sri Lanka's Athapaththu," explained Hartley.

"Their bowling attack is quite settled but she holds the batting together, and in a tournament where the conditions are still quite unknown, it's vital to have a player who can be the glue. She is also very calm and collected as a leader."

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