2025 World Cup - Open Women: Day 2 Recap

A recap of results from Day 2 of the Open Women's Division at the 2025 World Cup in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Summary

Australia’s comprehensive win against New Zealand in the first Trans-Tasman clash of the tournament headlined Day 2, with the Aussies underlining their intentions early. The Kiwis did pick up a win earlier in the day against England, who rebounded to pick up a valuable win against the home side. UAE and India both picked up victories against Singapore, who continue to struggle.

Day 2 Results

New Zealand 102 (35 6 21 40) defeated England 53 (15 20 7 11)

Player of the match: Claire Crooks (NZL) - 11 runs, 5/-16

New Zealand batted first with Gemma Krebs carrying over her form from Day 1, scoring 14 runs 35-run opening pair with Saffron Wilson. England fought back well with the ball in the 2nd pair, with consistent wickets, including three in the final over of the pair by D’Nica Roff, who took 3/-9. Claire Crooks and Anika Todd withstood some early wickets in the ninth and 10th over, to score 21 runs in the final two overs of their pairing. Captain Marama Downes and Katriel Thomas then played decisively in the last four overs - as well as being the benefactors of six re-bowls in the final over of the innings, to put on 40 runs take the New Zealand total over 100.

Downes carried through her momentum into the field, taking taking 2/-6 to put serious pressure on the English chase, whilst Saffron Wilson claimed 5/-16. Lucy Weston and Emily Stanyard batted well for England, with the 2nd pair picking up a vital bonus point skin but the target proved to be too much in the end.

India 133 (47 27 30 29) defeated Singapore 51 (16 2 17 16)

Player of the match: Disha Patel (IND) - 31 runs, 2/4

India also continued to show they are here to compete with a dominate performance of Singapore. Disha Patel and Reshma Shetty kicked the innings off with a 47-run opening pair, with Patel hitting 31 off 12 balls including one massive seven. The remaining pairs each scored above 25 to take the score to an imposing 132. Anushka Tomar bowled very well for Singapore, with 3/-2 and there was a much improved fielding effort as well.

This continued with the bat for the Singaporeans, and despite losing all four skins, they managed 51, with Joti Sinha scoring 14 runs, whilst Patel took 2/4.

England 94 (19 -2 30 47) defeated Sri Lanka 19 (0 9 14 -4)

Player of the match: Lucy Weston (ENG) - 22 runs, 4/-9

England came into this game needing to bounce back after two defeats to 2022 grand finalists Australia and New Zealand and coming up against the hosts Sri Lanka was never going to be easy, but they responded superbly. After a moderate start in the first pair and losing a few wickets in the second, they managed to put on 77 in the final eight overs. 47 of those came in the final pair as Lauren Barclay (23) and Lucy Weston (22) took 18 runs off Dinusha Jayasinsghe in the 14th over.

Sri Lanka could not get going in the run chase, losing regular wickets. Weston completed an excellent all-round game with 4/-9, whilst Menuka Herath scored 22 runs.

UAE 185 (35 30 58 62) defeated Singapore -1 (-8 6 4 -3)

Player of the match: Devisree Hari (UAE) - 47 runs, 2/-7

This game will be forever known as Hari’s Heroics. Hari put on arguably the individual performance of the tournament, incredibly coming only three runs short of a person half-century herself, which included three fives and one seven, as UAE plundered over 180 against the hapless Singapore attack.

Hari Pranidhi Pabasara picked up 5/-9 whilst every other UAE bowler took at least one wicket. Rachel Gnanaraj showed some fight with the bat with 14 runs, but Singapore were just simply overwhelmed by a very well-drilled UAE side. They will play England on Day 3 where they will still be seeking their first points of the tournament.

South Africa 119 (47 30 24 18) defeated India -11 (12 5 -24 -4)

Player of the match: Izandia Venter (RSA) - 24 runs, 3/-9

This game can change so quickly. After a big effort with the bat against Singapore, the Indian innings unfortunately did not get going, with a team score of minus 11. Nicole Daniels and Izandia Venter in particular did the damage with the ball for the Proteas, combining with 5/-20 in the 11th and 12th overs.

From there, the South Africans put on 119 runs in reply, bolstered by a 47-run opening partnership by Venter (24) and Kayla Ferreira (21). The result saw South Africa take full points from the match, and finish Day 2 undefeated with three wins, and only one skin behind Australia.

Australia 108 (11 41 28 28) defeated New Zealand 38 (1 20 -11 28)

Player of the match: Meagan Dixon (AUS) - 20 runs, 3/-7

One of three Trans-Tasman clashes on Day 2 (the others being in the Under-22 divisions) and a rematch from the 2022 World Cup final, this game was easily the most anticipated game so far in the tournament in the Open Women’s division.

Whilst New Zealand made early inroads and Australia scored just 11 in the first four overs, the match thereafter turned into a one-sided affair. The Australians picked off wayward lines with ease, and in the process, took the total past 100, with captain Meagan Dixon scoring 20 and sister Samantha 25.

The New Zealand chase never got going, and an opportunity was missed in the final pair - captain Marama Downes and Saffron Wilson, who were playing a well, being run out on the penultimate ball. Runs off the final ball saw a tied skin, which went in Australia’s favour (for tied skins in the fourth pair, the score goes back to the highest third pair between the two teams).