England remain unbeaten in the Women’s World Cup after Nat Sciver-Brunt’s sensational century and a remarkable spell of 4-17 from Sophie Ecclestone set up a crushing 89-run win over Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Having put England in to bat, Sri Lanka were left to rue dropping Sciver-Brunt on three, as she punished them with a run-a-ball 117 in England’s competitive 253-9.
The game was delicately poised with England 179-6 after 40 overs, but the captain timed her acceleration to perfection with 49 runs coming from the last five.
In reply, Sri Lanka’s captain and key batter Chamari Athapaththu retired hurt early in their innings, but fellow opener Hasini Perera and Harshitha Samarawickrama led a promising recovery to 95-1.
But the co-hosts’ lack of batting depth cost them, despite Athapaththu’s return to the crease before she fell for 15, and they finished 164 all out in the 46th over, Ecclestone’s often-unplayable spell of turn and bounce doing the damage.
England’s third win in a row puts them top of the eight-team table, one point above defending champions Australia.
Earlier, Sciver-Brunt played a lone hand as the rest of England’s top order made promising starts but were unable to capitalise, with opener Tammy Beaumont’s 32 the next-highest contribution.
Amy Jones was run out for 11 and Beaumont was caught in the covers, before Sciver-Brunt and former captain Heather Knight consolidated with a patient stand of 60.
Knight was caught sweeping for 29 and England suffered another middle-order wobble to spin, including the loss of Emma Lamb and Alice Capsey to Inoka Ranaweera in the 35th over.
The discipline of Dean stabilised England again as she added 38 for the seventh wicket with Sciver-Brunt, which allowed the skipper to kick on at the death and ensure they had set a winning score.
England will look to maintain their winning run against Pakistan, also in Colombo, on Wednesday.
Who: India vs Australia What: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 group stage When: Sunday, October 12 at 3pm (09:30 GMT) Where: Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam, India How to follow:Al Jazeera Sport will have live build-up from 07:00 GMT before our text commentary stream for the action.
India will hope for a quick return to winning ways when they meet defending champions Australia in a blockbuster clash at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 on Sunday.
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Both teams began the tournament as favourites, but Australia hold a definite edge in the match as record seven-time world champions and the only undefeated team after the first three group-stage matches.
Meanwhile, India were handed their first loss of the World Cup when South Africa pulled off a stunning turnaround in a three-wicket win on Thursday.
All 15,087 tickets for the eagerly awaited clash were sold out earlier in the week, indicating huge interest in what is now seen as one of the top rivalries in women’s cricket.
India vs Australia rivalry ‘continues to grow’
Australia’s captain Alyssa Healy admitted the interest in the Australia-India rivalry “continues to grow”, and that Australia will be taking on the “sleeping giant” of women’s cricket.
“They’ve [India] been a sleeping giant in the women’s game for a long period of time,” Healy said on Saturday.
The wicketkeeper-batter highlighted the role of the Women’s Premier League T20 franchise tournament in helping India unearth talent and figure out a style of play that suits them.
While Australia haven’t lost a match in the tournament, they have recovered from wobbly situations to post two wins in their two completed matches.
“You’re going to be put under the pump in unfamiliar conditions, against unfamiliar sides at times,” Healy explained.
“We’re allowed to lose games of cricket and be put under pressure in World Cups, and I really back the depth in our side,” she said when asked to comment on Australia’s batting slump against Pakistan on Wednesday.
“We’re fortunate that it’s been a different person every time that stuck their hand up and said, yep, I’ve got this, I can get us to a total or I can take the wickets to restrict the team.”
Despite their unmatched record in women’s cricket, Healy said India will be “a real threat” playing in their home conditions.
India beat Australia in the semifinal of the Women’s World Cup 2017 in England [File: Rui Vieira/AP]
India not dwelling on loss
India’s all-rounder Sneh Rana believes her team can bounce back quickly after the loss to South Africa, as they don’t dwell on losses and focus on the next challenge instead.
“We regroup, we study the match, plan how to improve, take the positives, and look forward to the next game,” Rana said on the eve of the Australia match.
She termed the Australians “one of the strongest competitors” but was quick to highlight the fact that India have beaten the world champions in the (2017) World Cup as well as their recent bilateral series.
For the hosts, one of the major areas of concern will be the lack of big scores from their top-rated batter Smriti Mandhana.
The left-handed opener has scored a world record 972 runs in women’s one-day internationals (ODIs) in 2025, but her top score in the tournament stands at 23.
In fact, none of India’s top batters feature among the tournament’s top five run-scorers thus far, with wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh in fourth spot with 131 runs.
Rana, however, said the team is not worried about the lack of runs from the top.
“We have some of the best batters in the world, and it’s just a matter of one good knock [before they score big].”
Smriti Mandhana has scored 54 runs in her three innings in the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 [Anupam Nath/AP]
India vs Australia: Head-to-head in ODIs
Despite the relatively low frequency of women’s international matches in past decades, India and Australia have faced each other in 59 ODIs.
Australia dominate the head-to-head count with 48 wins compared with India’s 11.
Form guide: India
The hosts won their first two matches of the World Cup comprehensively before crashing to a loss against South Africa. Their pre-tournament form has been mixed, with a series loss to Australia at home and an away series win against England.
Last five matches (latest result first): L W W L W
Form guide: Australia
Australia have won two of their three matches in the World Cup, with their fixture against Sri Lanka abandoned due to poor weather.
Apart from the one loss against India in September, Australia have not lost an ODI since September 2024.
Last five matches (latest result first): W W W L W
Team news: India
India may want to swap a spinner for a pace bowler, in which case Shree Charani could make way for Renuka Singh Thakur.
France beat Azerbaijan 3-0 on Friday to edge closer to qualifying for FIFA 2026 World Cup, but Kylian Mbappe injured.
Published On 11 Oct 202511 Oct 2025
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Kylian Mbappe will miss Monday’s qualifier in Iceland, where France could book their ticket to the 2026 World Cup, after taking another knock to his sore right ankle, the French team confirmed.
Already suffering from a “small niggle” in his right ankle from playing for Real Madrid, Mbappe took two knocks during Friday’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over Azerbaijan in Paris, where he opened the scoring but was substituted before the end of the match.
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The France captain’s absence adds to the long list of forwards unavailable for October’s World Cup qualifiers, which includes Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Marcus Thuram and Bradley Barcola.
Mbappe “will not be able to play Monday against Iceland”, a French Football Federation (FFF) statement read.
After returning to the Clairefontaine training ground on Friday night, “the French team captain spoke with (coach) Didier Deschamps,” who “acknowledged his absence”.
Mbappe “has been released to his club (Real Madrid) and will not be replaced”, the FFF added.
The French superstar had already been rested for training with Les Bleus during the week with the same issue.
Mbappe scored on the stroke of half-time and was then struck by a tackle from Rustam Ahmedzade. He took another knock to the same ankle late in the game and was replaced by Florian Thauvin.
“He has a sore ankle and he took a knock there. He preferred to come off; the pain was quite significant,” Deschamps said after the French victory.
Adrien Rabiot and the substitute Thauvin were also on the scoresheet as Deschamps’s men remain unbeaten after three games and top of Group D.
Les Bleus will book their passage to the United States, Canada and Mexico next year if they win in Iceland on Monday and Ukraine fail to beat Azerbaijan.
Wales’ World Cup qualifying fate is back in their own hands after group rivals Belgium and North Macedonia cancelled each other out.
North Macedonia top Group J after holding out for a goalless draw in Ghent against second-place Belgium, who travel to Cardiff on Monday.
Wales are third ahead of that game knowing they will secure automatic qualification for the 2026 tournament if they win their remaining three games.
North Macedonia lead the group standings with 12 points from six games, one point ahead of Belgium and two ahead of Wales, who both have a game in hand.
The team finishing second will enter the play-offs in March, while Wales could even make that stage by finishing third following their performance in the Nations League last year.
O’Neill admired the performance of his young side, who have made a superb start to qualifying.
A win in Luxembourg was followed by an hour of matching European heavyweights Germany, who eventually prevailed to win 3-1.
Friday’s win was superb from first minute to last. A Patrik Hrosovsky own goal broke the deadlock before Hume’s superb effort with just under 10 minutes left made sure – but was it the best under O’Neill?
“I don’t really look at games like that because teams evolve,” O’Neill said when asked if it was the most complete performance since his return in 2023 for a second spell in charge.
The Germany fixture will be his 100th game as Northern Ireland boss.
“The team when I came back in is very different to the team now,” O’Neill said. “They have given other good performances, like at home here to Bulgaria [a 5-0 win in October 2024] when we were excellent.
“I think tonight was a team of a higher calibre as well, so you can say it is one of the best performances we’ve had, but I still think there is more in the tank, and I think the players believe that as well.”
O’Neill was also full of praise for Hume, who has moved up the leagues with Sunderland and is now a Premier League regular.
The defender’s goal had come after the in-form David Strelec poked an effort wide for Slovakia. In the past, when there felt like an inevitability that the opposition would hit back, Hume’s effort changed that narrative.
“We deserved to be more than one goal ahead with how the game had gone, but we needed that second goal,” said O’Neill.
“Slovakia are a good team and are very experienced at international level, and it only takes a moment.
“They did have that chance and they missed it. As a young team you can lose confidence and momentum in that situation, but when the second goal went in – and it was a great finish – it was great for him as he’s such an important player for us.”
Brooke Halliday puts in a player of the match performance, with a 69 run knock to help New Zealand on their way to a comfortable 100-run win over Bangladesh to get their first win of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
Although fixtures against Sri Lanka and Pakistan should be straightforward for England as they look to continue their winning streak, they could prove decisive with back-to-back matches against India and Australia to come.
England thrashed South Africa in what could have been a tricky opener, avoided a scare against Bangladesh and now have a golden opportunity to make sure they go into those games against the pre-tournament favourites unbeaten.
But they will have to contend with more spin-friendly conditions in Colombo on Saturday, with opener Tammy Beaumont saying the nature of the pitches is reducing the gulf between teams.
“Every game in this World Cup is big. Bangladesh played so well against us and Sri Lanka will be a challenge in home conditions,” she told BBC Sport.
“The conditions are bringing all the teams into it, so it’s important we have to keep playing well.
“It certainly feels like the fixtures have worked quite well for us, so hopefully we can keep building that momentum and it will be all guns blazing by the time we get to Indore.”
The surface in Indore is likely to be the most batter-friendly that England will experience, with Australia’s 326 there against New Zealand the highest total of this World Cup.
While England’s batters struggled against spin against Bangladesh in Guwahati, they are not alone.
Australia’s extraordinary batting depth saved them from what would have been a mind-blowing defeat by Pakistan, recovering from 76-7 to post 221-9 in Colombo, but England have also proved they have a well-rounded attack for the surfaces.
When the qualifying draw was made in December, there was an understandable assumption that Germany would top the group and seal automatic qualification with Northern Ireland, Slovakia and Luxembourg fighting among themselves for the play-off spot afforded to the runner-up.
Slovakia’s victory over the four-time World Cup winners to kick things off last month has instead opened up myriad possibilities.
Friday night’s visitors to Windsor Park, who followed up their shock result against the Germans with late victory in Luxembourg, know that another three points in Belfast would be a huge step towards booking their place at next summer’s World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
While the side ranked 42nd in the world did not make the tournament in 2022, they reached the European Championships either side and were beaten by England at the last-16 stage in 2024 only after Jude Bellingham’s spectacular 96th-minute overhead kick.
Manager Francesco Calzona is the first foreign boss in the country’s history and came recommended by Slovakian legend Marek Hamsik from their time together at Napoli, where the Italian was an assistant coach.
Ties to the Serie A champions do not stop there with midfielder Stanislav Lobotka the side’s key player. The 30-year-old, however, has emerged as a major injury doubt for the game on Friday.
Another with recent Champions League experience, Atletico Madrid full back David Hancko, is another who could miss out.
While O’Neill said he would not believe their absences until the pair were missing when the anthems are played at Windsor Park, should Slovakia be without both then Middlesbrough striker David Strelec will be expected to carry a greater load.
The performances of 19-year-old Feyenoord winger Leo Sauer for the national side have sparked excitement too.
