Australia’s head coach Shelley Nitschke admitted that some “tough” selection choices lie ahead of their opening ODI World Cup clash against New Zealand on Wednesday.
The reigning champions wrapped up their warm-up games with a four-wicket loss to England in Bengaluru. Despite the defeat, Nitschke wasn’t overly concerned, pointing out that Australia had experimented with their batting line-up. At one stage, they were cruising at 127 for 2 in the 16th over, but a quick collapse after Sarah Glenn dismissed Ashleigh Gardner and the in-form Phoebe Litchfield derailed their momentum.
Sophie Molineux’s Return After Knee Surgery
The highlight of the match was Sophie Molineux’s long-awaited comeback. The left-arm spinner featured for the first time since last December, having missed the India series while recovering from knee surgery. She managed 1 for 37 with the ball and contributed 5 runs with the bat.
“𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 [𝑴𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒖𝒙] 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄,” 𝑵𝒊𝒕𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒏 12 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔.”
With Molineux back in contention, the management faces a likely call between legspinners Georgia Wareham and Alana King for the final XI.
Key Decisions for Bowling and Batting Units
Nitschke also praised Darcie Brown’s “excellent” spell after her return from a back spasm, but acknowledged that Megan Schutt and Kim Garth remain the leading pace options.
Georgia Voll, who averages 63.50 in her first five ODIs, could be the unlucky batter left out, while allrounder Heather Graham, a late replacement for Grace Harris, did not feature with bat or ball against England.
Reflecting on Australia’s struggles against Glenn, Nitschke added: “I think it was more about shot selection than a need to change our attacking approach.”
Ready for the World Cup Test
Having played a tough series against India earlier this month, Nitschke felt her team was well-prepared for the World Cup challenge.
“𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔,” 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑾𝒆’𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒆. 𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅.”
Also Read: Salman Agha Backs Fast Bowlers’ Aggression Ahead of Asia Cup Final