Blackwell expects evenly-matched contest

Alex Blackwell, the Australia women's vice-captain, expects an evenly-matched home series against India, starting on October 28, with neither side having had the ideal preparation. India had a poor series in August and September in England, where they lost 4-0, while Australia have not played international cricket since March.

"It will help measure where we are at," Blackwell told the Sun-Herald. India will play one Twenty20 and five ODIs in Sydney and Canberra.

Blackwell also expected the World Cup to be a hard-fought tournament. "There'll be some good cricket because the top four nations are evenly matched at the moment. New Zealand and England are the main threats, based on their recent form. India is ranked No. 2."

The World Cup, hosted by Australia in March next year, will be played in New South Wales. Several overseas players have come to acclimatise in Sydney's grade cricket competition, including England's Holly Colvin.

"They'll obviously benefit from playing on the local wickets," Blackwell said. "They'll be exposed to a very high level of competition because, in my opinion, it is the strongest in the world. Some club games are equal of quality to the Women's National League standard."

Though the Australia squad boasts of top-ranked players like Lisa Sthalekar and Shelley Nitschke, Blackwell said there was stiff competition from players from the other top teams. "Charlotte Edwards, from England, captains her team quite well and she also contributes with the bat," Blackwell said. "She's a match-winner.

"New Zealand have Nicola Browne, who consistently scores runs, and they also have Suzie Bates, who is trying to get back into the team after competing in basketball at the Beijing Olympics. One of our more immediate concerns is India's fast bowler Jhulan Goswami. She was named the ICC player of the year in 2007."