Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025: England provided timely reality check by Australia’s triumphant greatness

Same result, different day.

A glimmer of hope, a slightly open door creak, a creeping sense of ‘what if’ drifting through the crowd and commentary box – but in the end, Australia won.

This was England’s long-awaited Ashes encounter, their first competitive encounter since the ill-fated 16-0 defeat.

In some ways, this was a free hit, considering the fact that a semi-final place in the Women’s World Cup had already been secured for both teams.

Throughout the tournament, England – while far from perfect on occasions – have shown that they are not the same dejected England that left the Melbourne Cricket Ground in February, leaving not a scratch on their opponents – let alone a punch.

Against their great rivals in Indore, they went through spells where they were competitive – once again, something that was nothing more than a pipe dream at the start of the year.

Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont dominated the first eight overs, and they capitalized as the Australian seamers bowled the ball too wide and lacked control.

Alice Capsie played an enterprising role in England’s 244th over, which always looked below par, but when Lauren Bell removed Phoebe Lichfield’s off-stump with her beauty and Georgia Foale and Ellyse Perry were dismissed soon after, England were in unfamiliar territory.

They were favorites.

But against a team of this greatness, with a lineup full of stars from one to eleven and the remaining three on the bench, you cannot and will not win a match in moments.

England learned a harsh lesson in Indore. They have improved massively on the pitch, they look fitter, they appear to be a more cohesive unit ready to fight and overcome everything.

However, you can do all of that and still get outdone. You can take four first-class wickets for 68 runs, and the next two will add 180 chances between them, turning a fluctuation into a landslide victory with almost 10 overs to spare.

England’s unbeaten run was ended, as expected, by a massive blow from Australia.