KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC):
Australia Women’s head coach Shelley Nitschke says she will use their white-ball tour of the Caribbean to select the squad for the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup.
The Aussies take on West Indies Women across six matches (three T20Is and three ODIs) starting tomorrow, with star all-rounder Annabel Sutherland skipping the tour to allow her to freshen up prior to the next edition of the T20 World Cup in England from June.
All-rounder Nicola Carey and seamers Lucy Hamilton and Megan Schutt have been given the chance to show their capabilities across the six matches, and Nitschke is hoping it will help her settle on the final 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup, which commences on June 12.
“We all know how great Annabel is, and I certainly think that she’s going to be a main part of our T20 batting line-up at some point and still offers us some really good hitting down the order at the moment.
“But I guess her not being here is part of a bigger management plan, but it also provides some opportunities and allows us to sort of have a look at a few things that we, perhaps, need to see before we head across to England and start to get a better idea of what our options are and what our best make-up looks like,” Nitschke said.
The head coach confirmed that skipper Sophie Molineux has recovered well from her recent back issue and is expected to be fit to take on the West Indies across the six white-ball fixtures while pacer Kim Garth and veteran all-rounder Ellyse Perry would also be available after shaking off injury concerns.
However, Nitschke maintained that while players would be given an opportunity to push for a place in the World Cup squad, she said Australia’s goal was to win the series.
“We are coming here, and we want to win these games. I’m going to pick the team that’s best for the conditions, and I think there will be some opportunities for people.
“We’ve got 15 or 14 players here at the moment, and I think that there could be some opportunities that are provided within these three games. But, you know, first and foremost, we still want to play really well,” Nitschke said.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Sophie Molineux (captain), Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham, Tahlia Wilson.
