One key factor in Australia's game is helping their push to claim a second straight ODI World Cup, and Alana King's 3-38 from her past 20 overs highlights it
King's spin makes Australia queens of the middle overs
Posted October 25, 2025
Alana King's legspin has helped turn Australia into the middle-overs queens, with data showing how winning that period is fuelling their ODI World Cup defence.
Australia enter the crunch part of the tournament on Saturday with the top four already set and the last group game against South Africa to determine top spot.
The winners of that match will face hosts India in a do-or-die semi-final. The losers take on England in next week's other knockout match.
Coaching staff are yet to decide if captain Alyssa Healy will return from a calf strain for the South Africa match, with the in-form wicketkeeper-batter training lightly on Friday.
Australia have not been convincing in every game, but remain undefeated, their depth allowing someone to stand up in each match.
The other factor has been the way they have taken games away from rivals between the 20th and 40th overs, with both bat and ball.
Data from every completed game of this year's World Cup shows no team scores quicker that Australia's run-rate of 6.59 through the middle overs.
And no other team takes more wickets in that period either, with the defending champions claiming them at the rate of one every 32 balls.
King has been central to that, as illustrated by the combined 3-38 she has taken from 20 overs in the past two games against Bangladesh and England.
Bowling long spells through the middle, Australia have also been able to build pressure around King's spin on wickets that were always expected to favour her.
"I'm just trying to bowl my best ball and ... extract as much as I can out of the wickets," King said.
"We know sometimes they're not going to offer as much.
"But once you do (get a lot of spin), it's just adjusting your plans ever so slightly."
Australia's desire to better use their batting depth is also helping, with their middle-over run-rate far superior to next-best New Zealand's 5.75.
Ashleigh Gardner has hit two centuries batting at No.6, while Beth Mooney has a ton at No.4 and Annabel Sutherland a score of 98 not out at No.5.
It comes after a reset of tactics following last year's semi-final exit at the T20 World Cup, with batting geared towards leaving no runs in the sheds.
"Knowing that we genuinely bat all the way down the order gives us middle-order batters the flexibility to keep playing freely," Gardner said.
"Some people are batting No.7, No.8 or No.9 who probably open for their state sides or who bat really highly in their WBBL teams.
"It's about knowing we have people to come in behind us. It just gives us a lot of confidence as middle-order people.
"We come in at four down for not many, (or) four for heaps.
"It's being able to adapt really quickly and then being confident in ourselves to have the team success we desire."
Packers’ Matt LaFleur offers daunting Aaron Rodgers scouting report
If 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers has shown any sign of slowing down, or regressing, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur hasn’t seen it in his preparations for Sunday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
LaFleur, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, and the Packers will need to limit Rodgers’ big-play ability in the passing game and create chaos in the pocket around him if Green Bay is going to fly home with a fifth victory in tow.
Packers’ Matt LaFleur remains impressed by Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers has made no secret his desire to get revenge on his former team, ahead of the Packers vs. Steelers showdown, and he has been a driving force behind Pittsburgh’s run to the top of the division standings.
The former Packers MVP-winning quarterback has passed for 1,270 yards with 14 touchdowns to just five interceptions, looking markedly improved over the version of himself that emerged from a disappointing tenure with the New York Jets.
“He looks like he can still do anything,” LaFLeur told reporters this week. “It’s surprising for such an old man he is still moving around pretty good, too.”
Creating pressure on Rodgers, and getting him moving–if not forced into mistakes might be most important for the Packers. However, LaFleur cautions his team against taking Rodgers likely, despite his age and that he’s well into the twilight of his career.
“It’s really, really, really difficult,” LaFleur said. “The best way to beat a quarterback is to get him on his back. I tell our guys all the time, it’s hard to throw when you’re on your back. So, our pass rush is going to have to be on point, we are going to have to do some things in our coverages and sometimes, you’ve got to hit in terms of what you’re calling vs. what they’re calling.”
In a game where pressure could be the deciding factor, Micah Parsons may prove to be LaFleur and Hafley’s trump card in a game that carries significant weight for both teams.
