LIVE: England chip in with regular wickets in CWC25 clash

Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith removed both Australian openers in the powerplay as England set up for an exciting second innings of their heavyweight ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2025 clash.

Bell would kickstart England's proceedings with the ball, producing an absolute jaffa to remove Phoebe Litchfield in the first over.

It wouldn't take long before Linsey Smith poaches her first wicket, darting one in to bamboozle Georgia Voll as England gained ascendancy with the ball.

Smith then made it a brace for herself, inducing a soft caught-and-bowled dismissal to get rid of Ellyse Perry in her opening burst.

Beth Mooney and Annabel Sutherland tried to steady the ship for Australia with a good partnership, before captain Nat Sciver-Brunt held onto a smart catch to send Mooney back.

Having won the toss and put England in to bat first, the defending champions were pegged back early in the powerplay as England openers Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones found early boundaries.

The duo would compile 55 runs for the opening wicket but just as the two seemed to be in full flow, Annabel Sutherland provided Aussies with the opening breakthrough.

The right-arm quick would get one through Jones' defence, nipping the ball back in to crash into the off stump.

Sutherland's opening strike was soon followed by Sophie Moilineux trapping Heather Knight LBW as Australia claimed their second wicket against England.

Alana King then further tightened the screws for the Aussies, plucking the all-important wicket of England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt as Australia bounced back with the ball.

King would lure Sciver-Brunt into a big heave by taking the pace off her leg spin, but the England captain would end up playing a miscued stroke that landed straight in the hands of Sutherland at mid-off.

At the other end, Tammy Beaumont notched her first half-century of the tournament to set an early foundation for England's innings.

Compiling 78 off 105 deliveries, an innings that included 10 fours and one maximum, Beaumont led England's charge with the bat as the top-scorer in the first innings at Holkar Stadium in Indore.

However, Annabel Sutherland would eventually bring an end to Beaumont's stay in the middle as England lost their fourth wicket. With Beaumont looking to clear the ropes down long on, Georgia Voll displayed immaculate awareness to remove the England opener.

Australia then struck twice in quick succession to send Emma Lamb and Sophia Dunkley packing. With England six wickets down, Alice Capsey (38) and Charlie Dean (26) stitched a 61-run partnership for the seventh wicket.

The stand helped England to finish with 244 runs on the board from their quota of 50 overs.

Earlier, Australia's stand-in skipper Tahlia McGrath won the toss and elected to field first against England. Both the teams are unbeaten at the marquee tournament so far, with nine points each from five outings, having qualified to the next round.

While Australia kickstarted their tournament with a sizeable win over New Zealand, the defending champions had to contend with sharing a point against Sri Lanka in their second fixture after rain played spoilsport.

The seven-time winners would go on to win their next three games against Pakistan, India and Bangladesh to seal their spot in the semi-finals.

Australia will be missing their captain Alyssa Healy for the big contest owing to a calf strain.

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