Australia vs England - The calm before a potential storm

There's a very high possibility that Australia and England will face each other in the 2025 World Cup semifinal or maybe the final. History does suggest that. They have taken on each other nine times in World Cup knockout fixtures across formats with the most recent one coming in the last ODI World Cup final. Alyssa Healy obliterated England in that game with a stunning 170. And she has just hit two centuries in her last two games now looking in ominous touch. But in a temporary relief, England will not be bowling to her on Wednesday after she was ruled out of the fixture.

Both teams wouldn't want anymore potential injuries coming to the business end of the tournament. After this game, they both have just one more game left each ahead of the knockouts. While one might anticipate a sense of calm before the actual storm, Indore might actually pave the way for fireworks given the history of the venue. Australia recovered from 192/6 in their first game to post 326 at this venue. South Africa took less than 41 overs to chase down 232. Just two days ago, India and England played out a high-scoring thriller that saw over 570 runs being scored.

There's also a bit of pride at stake in this contest that doesn't have a lot riding on it in the larger scheme of things. These two are the only teams that are still unbeaten in the competition. Australia did suffer minor blips against New Zealand and Pakistan before eventually crushing them. They chased down 331 against India before decimating Bangladesh.

England on the other hand kickstarted their campaign with a flawless performance against South Africa before stuttering against the likes of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka uncharacteristically. After eventually getting over the line, England managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat to beat India in their most recent game. However, by the end of the night on Wednesday, one of these two giants will finally no longer stay unbeaten.

Head to Head: Australia have won 61 out of the 89 matches with England winning only 24.

When: Wednesday, October 21 at 3 PM IST

Where: Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore

What to expect: Clear skies for starters. Given the quality both teams have, expect another high-scoring fixture in this batting-friendly venue.

Team News

Australia:Alyssa Healy's minor calf injury has ruled her out of this fixture. Beth Mooney will be keeping wickets and Georgia Voll is expected to make her World Cup debut.

Probable XI: Georgia Voll, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney (wk) , Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath (c), Georgia Wareham, Alana King, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown

England

England are not expected to tinker with their XI.

Probable XI: Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones (wk), Heather Knight, Natalie Sciver-Brunt (c), Sophia Dunkley, Emma Lamb, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell

What they said

"I think it works in her favour. She's a pretty cool, cool customer and like I said, she probably hasn't had the output but she had a really important partnership for us in the New Zealand game with Ash Gardner I thought and she's someone that certainly steps up when she's leading the team. So, I'm looking forward to seeing her out there captaining us and I know she'll do a fantastic job." - Australia head coach Shelley Nitschke on Tahlia McGrath leading in Healy's absence