Updated ,first published
Australia have persevered with Sophie Molineux as captain for the Twenty20 World Cup in England despite an injury-blighted start for her stint as Alyssa Healy’s leadership successor.
But there will be selection conundrums aplenty as Australia try to avoid missing the tournament final for a third consecutive World Cup after slipping up in the semi-finals in the 2024 T20 Cup in the UAE and also last year’s 50-over World Cup in India.
Ash Gardner, widely thought to have missed out narrowly to Molineux for the captaincy, has been named co-deputy alongside fellow all-rounder Tahlia McGrath, who was also considered a leadership contender until a poor run of scores saw her spend time out of the side last summer.
Molineux, 28, suffered back problems on the recent West Indies tour, forcing her to play as a non-bowling captain batting down the order. She has a mottled injury history including serious knee and foot ailments that kept her out of the national team for over two years.
“We’ve got so much skill and experience, we’ve got some new energy,” Molineux said.
“Being able to bring it all together and being able to perform in those big moments where we’ve been on the other side of in the last couple of World Cups, that’s what’s really driving this group.”
National selector Shawn Flegler has admitted that any further long-term injuries for Molineux would compel a reassessment of the captaincy decision.
The team is heavy on spin, and it remains to be seen whether selectors can fit Molineux, Georgia Wareham and Alana King in the same side.
King has been an outstanding performer for Australia when selected, most recently in the Caribbean. But at the last T20 World Cup in 2024 she spent the tournament on the substitutes bench in conditions that should have favoured her skills.
Chief selector Shawn Flegler said all four spinners could play in the same side, but that Molineux’s position wasn’t in question.
“She’s our skipper and she’s going to play … left-arm orthodox, it’s highly valued in the women’s game,” he said. “Georgia’s been a No.1 leg-spinner. Alana’s come in and done really well.
“But I think the pecking order is pretty clear.
“We’ve got Ash, Soph and Georgia, and then if conditions allowed, then Alana comes into it as well.”
Fast bowler Darcie Brown was left out of the squad to make way for left-arm seamer Lucy Hamilton, while Annabel Sutherland has returned after being rested from the West Indies trip. Seasoned swing bowler Megan Schutt also made the cut after being on the fringes of the team in recent months.
“She was obviously disappointed,” Flegler said of Brown.
“We’ve been trying to get Darc up over the last couple of years to be a front-line bowler and bowl in that power play and she just hasn’t quite nailed that opportunity, but we still think she’s going to have a great career for Australia as well.
“She’s still a young fast bowler, this is certainly not the end, and she may well get called up during the World Cup anyway.”
Bundaberg product Hamilton debuted in all three formats for Australia in March.
While the men’s program has been blessed with left-arm fast bowling talent, it’s a skill rarely seen in the women’s game.
“She gets some good bounce, bowls a really heavy ball; it’s a real point of difference, especially for our attack,” coach Shelley Nitschke said, struggling to name another she had played with or coached over the past 20 years.
“There’s not a lot of them around.”
With AAP
T20 World Cup squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham. Travelling reserve: Tahlia Wilson
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Daniel Brettig is The Age’s chief cricket writer and the author of several books on cricket.Connect via X.
