2017 champions England begin their title defence with a clash against Australia, who thumped them 12-4 in the multi-format Ashes series and have won 31 of their last 33 ODIs.

"I am happy to be where we are and for Australia to be favourites, that's for sure. That becomes an extra pressure," Keightley said ahead of England's game with Australia in Hamilton, live on Sky Sports from 12.30am on Saturday.

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"If Australia look at it that way, I'm not too sure, but we know they have played pretty consistent cricket over the last two years. They might not say it but we all know they are favourites.

"Having said that, there are a number of teams who if they play well on their day and take their chances can win a game of cricket.

"We have seen [England] can win a World Cup, even though it was five years ago. The players and coaching staff believe we have got what it takes. There is a lot of belief.

"We definitely have plans [for Australia] and throughout the Ashes those plans did work. It's a matter of putting the batting and bowling plans together.

"Our batting plan in the first Ashes T20 was to take the game to Australia and score runs and I think we did that and surprised them. We have plans and we know when we execute them we can put pressure on them."

England were dismissed for 178, 129 and 163 across the three one-day internationals in the Women's Ashes but did pile on 310 against Bangladesh in a World Cup warm-up match this week.

'England batters had to regroup after Ashes'

Keightley - who has confirmed Lauren Winfield-Hill will open the batting with Tammy Beaumont against Australia - added: "After the Ashes, we needed our batters to regroup and start again.

"I think when we get it right and play the way we want to, we are very threatening with the bat.

"We saw that in patches in the Ashes but we probably did not see our best in the last few games. It's definitely going in the right direction.

"We have seen over the last 18 months that our batters can score runs against good bowling attacks, which has given us confidence.

"We saw moments of our players taking it to Australia and putting them under pressure.

"The batters have had a meeting with themselves which is great. They are working it out and I am backing them to perform well.

"The players are in good place, up for the World Cup and looking forward to it. We got together and dumped what we wanted to dump about the Ashes.

"Everyone had something to say about the World Cup - for some it's their first, for some it might be their last."

Australia were beaten by hosts New Zealand in a World Cup warm-up match as the White Ferns chased down a target of 322 with 41 balls to spare, losing just one wicket along the way.

Captain Sophie Devine hit an unbeaten 161 from 117 deliveries, with support from Amelia Kerr (92 not out off 75 balls) and Suzie Bates (63 off 68).

'New Zealand will definitely make the semi-finals'

Keightley added: "I think New Zealand are peaking at the right time, which you always want to do in your home World Cup. They are going to be really tough to beat.

"They know the conditions really well and have players coming into form. I think they will definitely be in the semi-finals and one of your toughest games."

Australia's Gardner out of England match

Australia will be without Ashleigh Gardner for their Women's World Cup opener against England as well as their second match against Pakistan after the all-rounder tested positive for Covid-19.

Gardner has claimed 43 wickets in 42 one-day internationals and averages 24.82 with the bat for Australia, who enter as favourites as the number one-ranked one-day team.

The 24-year-old is set to come out of isolation on March 13, coinciding with Australia's third group game.

Watch every game from the Women's Cricket World Cup live on Sky Sports. Coverage of the tournament opener - hosts New Zealand vs West Indies - gets under way on Friday at 12.30am. England vs Australia is live from 12.30am on Saturday.