Australia, South Africa eye top spot in dress rehearsal for semifinals

Australia and South Africa, both already assured of semifinal berths, meet in what could well be a dress rehearsal for the knockout stage of the ICC Women's World Cup 2025. With Australia, South Africa, England and India confirming the top four, the stakes on Saturday lie in securing pole position. A win for Australia will see them finish as table-toppers yet again, while South Africa, if victorious, will leapfrog into first place - a fitting incentive for two sides that have been the most consistent in the tournament so far.

For Australia, the focus in the build-up has been on Alyssa Healy's fitness after she missed the previous game due to a calf strain. Tahlia McGrath, the stand-in skipper, offered a cautiously optimistic update: "Midge is at training today. We haven't finalized an XI yet, but she's still a bit of a day-by-day case and we'll see how that pans out." Regardless of whether Healy returns, Australia's depth gives them enviable flexibility. The latest example of that was their win against England, when they were reduced to 68/4 pursuing 245 and still secured an emphatic victory. The defending champions will want to carry that winning rhythm into the knockouts, and finish the first stage as the only undefeated team.

South Africa, meanwhile, will see this as a chance to make a statement ahead of the semifinals. Since their opening loss to England, they've stitched together five consecutive wins, including dominant performances against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Laura Wolvaardt's consistency, Marizanne Kapp's all-round influence, Chloe Tryon and Nadine de Klerk valuable contributions, and the bowling unit's discipline have kept them in strong rhythm. They have ticked most of the boxes in the competition but having never beaten Australia in a World Cup, the Proteas will be keen to rewrite that record - and doing so to finish the group stage as table leaders would be the perfect springboard into the semifinals.

When: Saturday, October 25, 2025 at 3:00 PM Local Time

Where: Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore

What to expect: The average first innings score in Indore in this World Cup is 272 and the pitch is expected to favour the batters. This will be Australia's third game here - they posted 326 against New Zealand and chased down the target against England at this venue. For South Africa, this will be their second game here, having chased a target of 232 comfortably against New Zealand.

Head to head: Australia has dominated this rivalry, winning 16 of the 18 encounters against South Africa, with one tied game. Australia Women lead 8-0 in the World Cups against the Proteas.

Team news:

Australia: Although Healy was training on the eve of the match, Australia might not want to rush her back into action, considering the knockouts. They could stick to the same team that took the field against England, with McGrath as stand-in captain.

Probable XI: Georgia Voll, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney (wk), Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath (c), Sophie Molineux, Alana King, Kim Garth, Megan Schutt

South Africa: Wolvaardt's side could go in with an unchanged eleven too.

Probable XI: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Tazmin Brits, Sune Luus, Annerie Dercksen, Marizanne Kapp, Karabo Meso (wk), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Nondumiso Shangase, Ayabonga Khaka, Nonkululeko Mlaba

Did you know?

- Australia have lost 16 wickets to spin in five games - the least by a team in this tournament.

- Marizanne Kapp is two wickets away from becoming the second-highest wicket-taker in World Cups, after Jhulan Goswami (43).

- Megan Schutt is three wickets away from leapfrogging Lisa Sthalekar (146) to third on the ODI wicket charts for Australia. She also has 38 wickets in ODI World Cups and needs two more to go past Lyn Fullston as the leading wicket-taker for Australia in the tournament.

- Beth Mooney is 69 away from 3000 ODI runs. She will be the seventh from Australia to reach the mark.

What they said:

"I really enjoyed the England game. I certainly have to listen a bit more in meetings and be a bit more switched on, but I really enjoyed the opportunity to lead and really enjoyed working with Ash [Gardner]. She helped me a lot stepping into that vice-captain role and we're blessed with so much support in the Australian team and with bowlers being so diligent in their plans. So, it's a seamless transition and as much as I enjoyed it, pretty keen for Midge to come back as soon as possible" - Tahlia McGrath, on captaincy.