Defending champions Australia will begin their pursuit of a record sixth Women's Twenty20 World Cup when they face-off against New Zealand in Paarl, South Africa.
Led by a refreshed Meg Lanning - back in the national side after a five-month mental-health break - Australia will look to put behind them the shock three-wicket defeat they suffered against Ireland in a warm-up match three days out from Saturday's World Cup opener (Sunday 4am AEDT).
The holders of both limited-overs world titles, and gold medallists at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Australia are pooled in Group A alongside New Zealand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the hosts.
They enter the 10-team tournament as favourites despite the defeat to Ireland.
Since April 2021, they have won 16 of their 17 completed T20 internationals, their only loss coming through a 'super over' in the second match of their tour of India in December.
Vice-captain Alyssa Healy, who sustained a calf injury during the fourth T20I on that tour, recovered in time to play both World Cup practice games.
Having only kept wicket in Australia's 44-run warm-up victory against India on Monday, Healy retired out after scoring a 40-ball 62 in their loss against Ireland on Wednesday.
She is expected to start in her regular opening role against New Zealand.
"It's been a tough probably seven weeks for Alyssa," Australia's head coach Shelley Nitschke said in Stellenbosch on Thursday.
"To see her back out there yesterday, keeping wickets, batting and making runs and hitting the ball as well as I've seen for a while - it's exciting for her and it's exciting for our team."
The eighth edition of the T20 World Cup marks the first assignment of any senior Australia women's team in South Africa since they lifted the 2005 ODI World Cup there.
Besides Nitschke, who was part of that 2005 squad, only three players from Australia's current touring party have ever played in the country.
"What we've found with the conditions here so far, with all the training venues we've been at and even the two warm-up games, the conditions have been quite different," Nitschke said.
"One of the strengths of our group is having that ability to be able to adapt.
"That's going to be really important for us; reading the conditions early and then adapting what the best ball to bowl is, what the best way to play the conditions is going to be, and being able to do that quicker than the opposition."
Australia's first brush with the lie of the land at Boland Park, Paarl - where they play one of their four group games before moving base to Gqeberha - will come during Friday's evening training session.
Their World Cup curtain-raiser against New Zealand - who they last faced in the semi-final of the Commonwealth Games last August - is the second fixture of Saturday's double-header at the same venue, with England facing West Indies in the other.
