Australia look to continue dominance over England in campaign opener
Australia v England
Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand
Saturday 05 March, 2pm Local Time
The two nations played the multi-format Ashes before travelling to the World Cup, with Australia winning the series emphatically.
And the three ODI matches in that tour hinted that the world’s top-ranked side will again be the team to beat in New Zealand, with Meg Lanning’s side coming out on top in all three matches.
Australia are favourites to take the title in 2022, which would make it seven World Cup wins in total for the Aussies, but their opening opponents are the current holders of the trophy.
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England’s stunning tournament victory at home in 2017 was arguably the most impressive of the four crowns in the country’s history, and England captain Heather Knight is hopeful that their winning experience can carry them through again in New Zealand.
"I think the tournament we had in 2017 will give a lot of the players confidence that they can deal with the ebbs and flows of the tournament and know how to be successful in World Cups,” she said.
Saturday’s match won’t decide the fate of either side, with both fancied to reach the semi-finals, but the game offers an early chance for two of the top teams at the tournament to lay down a marker.
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THE TEAMS
**Australia Squad:**Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nic Carey, Ash Gardner, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington. Travelling reserves: Georgia Redmayne, Heather Graham
England Squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Tash Farrant, Amy Jones, Emma Lamb, Nat Sciver (vc), Anya Shrubsole, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Danni Wyatt. Travelling Reserves: Lauren Bell, Mady Villiers
KEY PLAYERS
Tammy Beaumont - The England opener always seems to save herself for the big occasion, so expect to see the 30-year-old score plenty of runs in New Zealand. Beaumont topped the scoring charts at the 2017 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup with a whopping 410 runs and looked to be in good touch during the recent Ashes series against Australia.
Alyssa Healy - There's a reason why Healy is rated as the best ODI batter in the world on the MRF Tyres ICC Women's Batting Rankings, with her ability to score quickly at the start of an innings an important feature of the 31-year-old's game. Healy has three ODI centuries and 13 half-centuries to her name for Australia, but it's her impressive strike rate (99.39) in 50-over cricket that stands out.
WHAT THEY SAID
England captain Heather Knight: “In the last couple of years before a World Cup, you are trying to really build to peak at that time.
“We've really tried to be a little bit more aggressive, a little bit more attacking, look to take wickets particularly up front and through that middle phase."
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Australia captain Meg Lanning: “The impacts of the 2017 World Cup have obviously changed the way we play but, from now really moving forward, this World Cup is completely different.
“This group that we've got here is very different to 2017. I think the majority of the players were not even involved in the tournament, and the majority of the staff also weren't there.”
THE VENUE
The picturesque Seddon Park plays host to this match, one of seven tournament fixtures held at the ground.
The grassy stadium in Hamilton will be a familiar setting to fans of international cricket, with the ground having hosted an abundance of international matches since its first ODI - New Zealand's men against India back in 1981
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TOURNAMENT FORMAT
All eight teams at the tournament will play each other across seven rounds in a league format.
The top four teams in the standings after the conclusion of the Group Stage will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be held in the final week of March.
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LATER FIXTURES
Australia Fixtures
5 March v England
8 March v Pakistan
13 March v New Zealand
15 March v West Indies
19 March v India
22 March v South Africa
25 March v Bangladesh
England Fixtures
5 March v Australia
9 March v West Indies
14 March v South Africa
16 March v India
20 March v New Zealand
24 March v Pakistan
27 March v Bangladesh