Harmanpreet Kaur’s India has a real chance of creating a watershed moment for women’s cricket in the country in 2025, if they go on to win the World Cup, which begins on Tuesday, September 30, in Guwahati. The side has taken several leaps in terms of playing the sport, and finally, India has world-beaters who can rub shoulders with some of the greatest names, such as Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy, Nat Sciver-Brunt and others. However, the reality remains that India has yet to win the World Cup, and 2025 presents itself as the best chance, as the tournament is being played on home soil.
India, which recently went down fighting against Australia in a three-match ODI series, will begin its campaign on Tuesday against Sri Lanka, and the team has a chance to hit the ground running right from the opening match. India, under the captaincy of Mithali Raj, came ever so close to pulling off a miracle when they were within touching distance of winning the tournament at Lord’s Cricket Ground in 2017. However, a horrendous collapse right at the end ensured a narrow nine-run win for England.
Harmanpreet’s team might be one of the strong contenders for the latest edition of the competition, but anyone who follows women’s cricket knows that the real challenge would be to keep Australia, aka the Southern Stars, away from the trophy, as undoubtedly they are one of the greatest lineups to play any sport.
Australia, who will be led by Healy in the 2025 edition, have won seven Women’s 50-over World Cups and once again, they start as the overwhelming favourites. England have been on a downward spiral of late, but one cannot forget about the side as they have a knack for raising their game against all odds, and considering they are coached by Charlotte Edwards, the Three Lions will be a force to reckon with.
Ahead of the Women’s World Cup opener between India and Sri Lanka in Guwahati, Hindustan Times spoke to Mark Robinson, the former head coach of England, who oversaw the side’s famous World Cup win in 2017. In a freewheeling chat, he discussed England’s chances and whether India has what it takes to go all the way this time around.
Excerpts:
Do you see this as India’s best chance to end its trophy drought and win its maiden World Cup?
The Indian team has gotten better year on year. Obviously, the investment the Indian board has made in the infrastructure below has been fantastic, and it’s beginning to pay off. As I say, they’ve got some depth in their order now. They’ve got some depth, and those all-rounders are going to make a difference. A lot more athletic in the field, which is going to help as well. But they’ve got some outstanding batters and some really dangerous batters. So, indeed, it’s exciting to watch, and the world needs India to produce and support its women’s teams.
So, it’s a great opportunity for them. As I say, for me, it will be how they handle the pressure of being the host and all the expectations of the millions of people who will be watching, whether on television or in person at the game, and how they manage that. They still have some growing to do. They still can be 50-50 in the field. One day, they can be brilliant. But they still carry quite a few players from a fielding point of view. As I said, their bowling, while improving, remains somewhat vulnerable. But they’re a very, very dangerous team now, and it is a good opportunity for them. But if they don’t win it this time, it won’t be long before they pull off something.
Is the Indian team very dependent on Smriti Mandhana? Does she hold the key to India winning the trophy?
I think they are less dependent on her than they have been in the previous few years. But look, it’s like we’re talking about England with Nat Sciver-Brunt. Every team, men or women, have a star player, don’t they? And if your best players play well, you have a greater chance of winning. So, Mandana has been one of the form players in the world over the last year. And she’s going to play a big role in how far India goes in this World Cup.
Will the 2025 Women’s World Cup be a closely fought tournament? Do you think the other teams have been able to bridge the gap with Australia?
It’s between the top three. It’s England, Australia or India. I think there’s quite a big gap between the rest of the teams in the world. I think South Africa has some good players. But I think the longer the format, the more you need a better 11. I think in a T20 competition, an individual can win you a game. So, I think South Africa, although they can give a team some scares because they have some good players, lacks sufficient depth. So, it would be between those big three: England, Australia, and India. I think from India’s point of view, their bowling is a little vulnerable.
What they have done now is create more depth in their batting order, which is fantastic for them with those all-rounders. But they’ve got some proper players, proper batters. And they really are starting to come to the party, and how they manage the expectations of the home crowd will be fascinating. They can make it work for them. They can gain real momentum and a force from all the enthusiastic people who have been cheering them on. So they’ll be very, very dangerous.
Australia’s been there before. I actually think their bowling’s waned a little bit. Alana King’s outstanding, but I think they’re a little bit more vulnerable on the bowling front. However, they have a lot of depth. They field outstandingly well, and they know how to win. England are dark horses for me because, as I said, everybody would have written them off. They have some good players. They have got Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont.
Getting back to England, how do you rate their squad? Nat Sciver-Brunt is arguably the greatest all-rounder going around in the sport right now. Are England way too dependent on her? And will the side miss Kate Cross? How do you see her omission?
England will come in with a few nerves because they’ve had a difficult time. Obviously, they’ve had a difficult time in Australia. Change of captain, change of coach. The summer wasn’t smooth; the transition to the era of Charlotte Edwards and Nat Sciver had begun. But they’ll be hoping they can grow. Charlotte Edwards is an outstanding coach, and she’ll be hoping that what she learnt about the team in the summer and the work she has done in the last couple of months will pay her in good stead as they enter this World Cup.
England are lucky. They’ve got a few gaps in the squad, but they’ve got two of the best players in the world. They’ve got the best batter in the world in Nat Sciver, and they’ve got the best fingerspinner in the world in Sophie Ecclestone. So that’s two really big players in their team, big trump cards. But you’re right, they’ll need to keep Nat fit and hopefully firing as well. She’s got the added responsibility of captaincy. At the moment, it showed no signs of being a burden to her. If anything, it seems to be helping her.
Kate’s going to be missed because she’s a great girl. She’s good around the group. She’s a good level head. She’s experienced now, as you said. She’s got some leadership qualities. However, each head coach must select a squad and strike the right balance to cover the bases they believe are necessary to win a World Cup. England have put a lot of store in their spinners, which is quite right. They’ve got some very, very good spinners of different types. But the key one, I think, is Nat Silver. If Nat were to go down as a bowler, they might miss having Kate around.
However, if Nat stays fully fit and is able to call her overs, giving the squad and the team that extra balance, then they may be okay. Any team’s going to miss someone like Kate Cross. But as I say, head coaches are paid to make tough decisions. And that’s what Charlotte’s done.
Lastly, I have to ask you about your memories of the 2017 World Cup final at Lord’s Cricket Ground. How do you look back at that time?
It was a big moment. I mean, there was a lot of pressure on the England team at the time. Everybody talked about it as a great opportunity to showcase the game and sell it to the masses and millions. It was a truly brilliant occasion. Obviously, for us to reach the final was a great achievement because, like India coming into this one, we weren’t the fanciest team. However, we grew stronger as the competition progressed, with great momentum.
And then the final took care of itself. It was probably the dream final to play India. India just obviously hammered Australia with that sensational Harmanpreet century. And it was a full house. Lots of Indian fans as ever. They support their team at home and away. And then millions on the TV. It was a truly great occasion. And the game, obviously, was sensational as well, going to such a climax as it did.
