At the presentation on Thursday, Alyssa Healy, who is 35, acknowledged that this was her final ODI World Cup. A definitive decision will be made during the T20 World Cup next year, but Schutt, 32, had already stated that this would be her final 50-overs World Cup as well. Perry has not yet discussed her international future, despite the fact that she will turn 35 in three days.
A period of extraordinary success came to an end with Australia’s semi-final defeat from the Women’s World Cup 2025; since the previous tournament in 2022, they had only lost three of their 30 ODIs. What will the seven-time champions’ upcoming ODI cycle entail? What will happen to the dependable trio of Megan Schutt, Ellyse Perry, and Alyssa Healy next?
“This next four-year cycle leading into the next World Cup is going to be really exciting for our group and potentially see some really cool opportunities for some of the younger players to get greater opportunities in this side,” Australia’s captain, Alyssa Healy, stated following their loss to India in the semi-final championship match.
The chance for a few of our guys to perform under such extreme pressure would be extremely beneficial to our team. The identical incident occurred in 2017. After giving it some thought, we identified areas where we could improve going forward and areas where we could have performed a little bit better under duress. And I believe that going ahead, we made that change, as demonstrated by the last cycle, which was completed in 2022.”
Australia had lost their first ODI World Cup match since 2017. The previous loss had similarly been to India in the semi-finals; following that outcome, Australia completely changed their tactics, moving Healy up the order to open and pursuing a relentless attack batting approach. They have an ODI winning streak of 26 games thanks to their strategy.
The most recent failure was seen by Alyssa Healy as another opportunity for a makeover.
“This is just another re-ignition for our group to say, you know what, we can be better at little moments of the game,” Healy explained. Our group will benefit greatly going forward from having that experience, being under pressure, and seeing how we react. That’s very awesome.
“Hopefully, there will be more one-day cricket matches in the future. That, in my opinion, will be crucial to this cycle. There are many teams in this World Cup that we will undoubtedly have to compete against in the Women’s Championship. In that sense, further bilateral series will be fantastic for the global game and ensure that these World Cups are extremely competitive.
“And of course, the chance to watch the next generation emerge and play cricket the way they are, the way they can, and truly take the game on, as I believe we’ve witnessed in the latter stages of this World Cup. For the women’s game, I believe these are extremely exciting times.
Since the ODI World Cup is quadrennial, it frequently feels like the end of an era, and there is more room for long-term preparation than with T20Is, where World Cups are held every two years. Australia’s journey in the upcoming ODI cycle will undoubtedly be led by young players like Phoebe Litchfield, Annabel Sutherland, and Georgia Voll, with seasoned players like Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, and Tahlia McGrath—all of whom are in their late 20s or early 30s—still playing important roles.
Perry told reporters during the semi-final, “The state of the women’s game where it’s going is absolutely phenomenal.” “With its intense competition, this World Cup has undoubtedly been the hardest one yet. There have likely been more 300-plus scores this competition than ever before, and the side batting first scored over 300 in both of the semi-finals.
“We want to keep moving the game forward, even though it means we won’t always win. We play while having a great time and applying what we’re attempting to accomplish. Therefore, it’s a joy to participate. I consider myself quite lucky to watch how things develop.
Litchfield’s 93-ball 119 in the semi-final is a perfect example of how Australia’s cricketing environment is seasoned enough to continue producing players who appear ready when they step up. Despite the continuous production line, head coach Shelley Nitschke remains optimistic about the future.
“We haven’t discussed about transition much, we had been just focussing on this World Cup obviously,” she continued. In recent years, we have had a number of leaders. We are always changing and evolving. I’m not sure if the discourse will be more difficult or not, but that’s a moving beast.
We’ll get down and talk about [leadership] when the time is right. But I doubt that a decision will be made very soon. We’ll keep reviewing and trying to improve. When it matters most, we must perform better.
Australia has already established itself as a leader in women’s cricket. Imagining what their next chapter would be like is frightening.
India
