Sophie Molineux return sets up selection trouble for Australia as coach Shelley Nitschke feels the team are well placed.
Ahead of Wednesday’s debut ODI World Cup encounter against New Zealand, Australia’s head coach Shelley Nitschke is ready to deal with some “tough” selection decisions.
In Bengaluru, the reigning champions lost to England by four wickets to wrap off their preparations, but Nitschke was unconcerned about the outcome because Australia had changed their batting order. They were headed for a massive total at 127 for 2 in the 16th over. However, the middle order faltered when Ashleigh Gardner and Phoebe Litchfield, who had sprinted to 71 off 48 balls, were dismissed by legspinner Sarah Glenn within four balls.
Sophie Molineux, a left-arm spinner who missed the series against India to finish the last phases of her recuperation after knee surgery, played in the match for the first time since last December. Before leaving for India, skipper Alyssa Healy had stated that Molineux would be a first-choice pick if she demonstrated her fitness, despite the fact that she made 5 off 10 balls and claimed 1 for 37.
When it comes to the final XI against New Zealand in Indore, it would then likely be up to the two legspinners, Alana King and Georgia Wareham.
“Just to see her [Molineux] out there was fantastic,” Nitschke said. “It’s been close on 12 months, but just to have her out there bowling again, that’s a really good thing for us and our squad.
“I guess we’ll sit down in the next couple of days and assess everything and see how we line up. I think we’re going to be faced with some pretty tough calls throughout the whole tournament. We’ve got a really good squad here. You know, everyone’s sort of at some point played really well, so we’ve got some decisions to make for sure.”
Additionally, the selectors will have to decide on the composition of the pace attack. Megan Schutt and Kim Garth would seem to be the first-choice duo, but Nitschke hailed Darcie Brown’s “excellent” performance when he returned from a back spasm and took 1 for 30 in six overs against England.
The frontline hitter who is most likely to be left out is Georgia Voll, who has averaged 63.50 in her first five ODIs. Heather Graham, an all-rounder who took Grace Harris’ place due to injury, did neither bowl or bat against England.