"Australia's young stars ready to seize World Cup opportunity" - Alyssa Healy | ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024

In addition to previous preview articles, we are making available for free editorial use one of the captains' columns in advance of the 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup. To assist with covering the tournament, the ICC Online Media Zone offers match reports, features, photos, media conference videos and transcripts, statistic packs, and a comprehensive media guide, just like in previous women's global tournaments. Kindly send an email to media@icc-cricket.com to gain access.

Our team will have a fantastic opportunity to go and fight against the best in the world at the forthcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

T20 World Cups are extremely difficult to win; it's best against best, and the winner is whoever can be the most reliable or triumph in the crucial times along the way.

It means a lot to represent your country in one, and this competition has given us some priceless experiences.

For many in our group, winning the T20 World Cup in 2020 at home was especially memorable. The thrill of hosting the final at the MCG in front of 86,174 spectators was incredible.

This time around, our squad has no real expectations, but I anticipate it to be an extremely difficult competition. All ten teams have a chance to win it, and it will be fascinating to see how things work out because several of the teams are playing in foreign countries.

For our group, playing in the UAE is a novel experience. It's a new place to see, which is thrilling, as just a handful of us have gone there and trained or played practice games there.

The conditions are relatively uncertain; nonetheless, I feel we are well ready to face anything is thrown our way.

My understanding is that the locations and amenities are top-notch, so I'm excited about the chance to participate in a World Cup.

Everyone's World Cup preparations have been a little bit different this time around.

While it was amazing to see, the majority of our team played The Hundred in the UK, and some, like me, stayed home at that period.

The ability to play cricket year-round, or not, is an incredible opportunity that gives players the freedom to prepare however they see fit. Seeing so many of our players having fun and getting ready for the World Cup is fantastic.

Our young players are a thrilling aspect of our squad this tournament, and I am looking forward to our group coming together for this competition.

They are incredibly thrilling to see and are prepared because they have had some experience competing internationally in previous seasons.

While it's definitely helpful to have some older, more knowledgeable people there to guide us, it's entertaining to watch the younger age play the game.

I would advise paying close attention to Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland in especially during this competition.

We head into this World Cup with a tremendously well-rounded group and powerful squad of players. I'm eager to take part in it.