Match details

Who: Australia v Sri Lanka

 

What: ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, Match 5

 

When: October 4, 2025, 7.30pm AEST first ball

 

Where: R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo

 

How to watch: Amazon’s Prime Video

 

Live scores: Match Centre

 

Officials: N Janani, Candace La Borde (on field), Kim Cotton (TV umpire), Vrinda Rathi (fourth), GS Lakshmi (referee)

 

News and reactions post-play: cricket.com.au and the CA Live app

The squads

Australia:  Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

Australia were dealt a blow ahead of the tournament when X-factor allrounder Grace Harris ruled out after suffering a calf strain in the third ODI against India. The Queenslander has been replaced by WA allrounder Heather Graham.

Sophie Molineux meanwhile made her international return after being included in Australia’s squad for their World Cup defence. Until Australia’s World Cup opener, Molineux hadn’t played an official game since undergoing knee surgery in January.

Five players were included in Australia’s 50-over World Cup squad for the first time, with Molineux joined by Georgia Wareham, Kim Garth, Phoebe Litchfield and Georgia Voll.

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Vishmi Gunarathne, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi De Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani, Imesha Dulani, Dewmi Vihanga, Piumi Wathsala, Inoka Ranaweera, Sugandika Kumari, Udeshika Prabodani, Malki Madara, Achini Kulasooriya. Reserve: Inoshi Fernando

Co-hosts Sri Lanka unveiled a squad with plenty of experience, led by veteran allrounder Chamari Athapaththu, who is backed up by the experienced trio of Harshitha Samarawickrama, Nilakshika de Silva and Anushka Sanjeewani, while Kavisha Dilhari, Malki Madara, Vishmi Gunaratne, Imesha Dulani, and Dewmi Vihanga have injected youth into the team as they feature in their first World Cup.

The sentimental surprise inside Beth Mooney’s kitbag

Broadcast details

Cricket fans in Australia can watch the upcoming ICC Women’s ODI World Cup for free, with broadcaster Prime Video putting the tournament in front of its paywall.

All 31 matches of the eight-team event in India and Sri Lanka are available live, exclusive and free via Prime Video, and viewers will only be required to sign into a free Amazon account.

Australia will be aiming to win an unprecedented seventh 50-over World Cup title, and become the first women’s team to claim consecutive titles since 1988.

Click here to watch the tournament on Prime Video

Possible line-ups and team news 

Australia: Alyssa Healy (c, wk), Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Alana King, Kim Garth, Darcie Brown

Australia sprung a selection shock for the opening game against New Zealand, omitting veteran Megan Schutt in favour of Darcie Brown’s added pace.

With conditions in Colombo expected to differ from those in Indore, Schutt could return, or Australia could even consider a fourth spinner after Georgia Wareham was left out of the XI that played the White Ferns in favour of Molineux.

Sri Lanka: Chamari Athapaththu (c), Hasini Perera, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Vishmi Gunaratne, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshi de Silva, Anushka Sanjeewani (wk), Sugandika Kumari, Achini Kulasuriya, Udeshika Prabodani, Inoka Ranaweera

Sri Lanka had their moments in their tournament opener against India. Veteran pacer Udeshika Prabodani, 40, got the huge wicket of Smriti Mandhana for eight, then spinner Inoka Ranaweera, 39, took three wickets in an over to have India reeling at 6-124. 

Sri Lanka bowled four spinners against India and another spin-heavy attack would be expected as they return to their home turf to meet Australia.

Things you want to know about the Aussie cricket team

Head-to-head ODI stats

Overall: Australia 11 wins, Sri Lanka 0 

In Sri Lanka: Australia 4 wins, Sri Lanka 0 

In ODI World Cups: Australia 4 wins, Sri Lanka 0 

Past 10 years: Australia 8 wins, Sri Lanka 0 

Most runs (overall): Meg Lanning 434, Chamari Athapaththu 359, Rachael Haynes 308, Nicole Bolton 291, Alyssa Healy 201

Most runs (in ODI World Cups): Meg Lanning 189, Chamari Athapaththu 188, Karen Rolton 154, Lisa Keightley 79, Rachael Haynes 71

Most wickets (overall): Kristen Beams 15, Holly Ferling 11, Jess Jonassen 10, Megan Schutt 10, Chamari Athapaththu 7

Most wickets (in ODI World Cups): Julie Hayes 4, Avril Fahey 3, Shelley Nitschke 3, Erin Osborne 3, Megan Schutt 3

Local knowledge

Form guide

Past 10 matches, most recent first. W: win, L: loss, N: no result   

Australia: W L W W W W W W W W

Australia had a batting wobble, but a century to Ashleigh Gardner and a strong bowling effort secured an 89-run win over New Zealand in their World Cup opener.

‘I’m not normally that emotional’: Gardner explains raw reaction

Before that, Australia had the ideal preparation for the tournament, playing hosts India in a one-day series earlier this month in Chandigarh and Delhi. They romped victory by eight wickets first up, then were humbled by 102 runs – their largest ODI defeat – in the second. A high-scoring series decider saw Australia defend 412 to seal a 2-1 victory. Prior to that, Australia had not played a one-dayer since the 2024-25 summer, where they defeated India 3-0, New Zealand 2-0 and England 3-0 across December and January.

Sri Lanka: L L L W W L L L N W

Sri Lanka were right in it when they reduced India to 6-124 after putting their rivals in to bat in their tournament opener, but ultimately, India’s depth and Sri Lanka’s errors in the field allowed their rivals to build a match-winning total.

Before the World Cup, Sri Lanka’s last outing was a tri-series against India and South Africa back in May where they experienced mixed results, posting one win against each of their rivals but also suffering several heavy defeats.

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Rapid stats

Australia have won all 11 of their women’s ODIs against Sri Lanka, including each of their four meetings at the ICC Women’s World Cup; only against Ireland (17) and Pakistan (16) Australia have played more matches in the history of the format without losing.
Sri Lanka have lost their last three ODIs, bowling first on the day in each of those three matches; the last time they recorded a longer losing run in the format was an 11-match span from February 2019 to June 2022.
Australia have won their last 10 World Cup matches including an 89-run victory against New Zealand in their opening match of this campaign.
Sri Lanka have won only one of their last eight World Cup matches, a 15-run victory against Pakistan in 2017. They did not qualify for the 2022 event in New Zealand.
Australia have scored 300-plus runs in each of their last two women’s ODI batting innings; they haven’t done so in more than two consecutive innings in the history of the format.
Sri Lanka have hit 14 sixes across their last five women’s ODI batting innings, exactly seven times as many as they logged in their five innings prior (2).
Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner has recorded two 100-plus scores in women’s ODIs in 2025, including 115 against New Zealand in Australia’s opening match, and 102 v England in January. Belinda Clark (3 in 1997) and Meg Lanning (3 in 2016) have made more centuries for Australia in a calendar year.
Chamari Athapaththu (3,920) is 80 away from becoming the 20th player to score 4,000 runs in women’s ODI history and the first for Sri Lanka. She has scored 50-plus runs in each of her last two innings in the format at home (52, 51).
Annabel Sutherland has taken five wickets at an average of 23 across her last three ODI innings after taking five wickets across her five innings prior in the format. She is four away (46) from reaching 50 wickets for Australia in one-dayers.
Inoka Ranaweera has taken eight wickets at an average of 26.9 across her five ODI innings in 2025, recording at least one wicket in each of those five innings. She took 4-46 against India in the tournament opener.
2025 Women’s ODI World Cup

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

Australia’s group stage matches

October 1: Australia won by 89 runs

October 4: v Sri Lanka, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 7:30pm AEST

October 8: v Pakistan, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 8:30pm AEDT

October 12: v India, ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam, 8:30pm AEDT

October 16: v Bangladesh, ACA-VDCA Stadium Visakhapatnam, 8:30pm AEDT

October 22: v England, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT

October 25: v South Africa, Holkar Stadium, Indore, 8:30pm AEDT

Finals

Semi-final 1: Guwahati or Colombo*, October 29, 8:30pm AEDT

Semi-final 2: Mumbai, October 30, 8:30pm AEDT

Final: Mumbai or Colombo*, November 2, 8:30pm AEDT

All matches to be broadcast exclusively live and free on Prime Video.

* All games involving Pakistan to be played in Colombo, including the semi-final and final if they qualify