Australia to host India in Women’s ‘A’ multi-format series from 7-25 August

Australia will host India in a multi-format women’s ‘A’ series from the 7th to the 25th of August. The multi-format series will feature three T20s, followed by as many one-dayers, and conclude with a four-day red-ball game, taking place in Brisbane, Mackay, and the Gold Coast respectively.

Cricket Australia has announced the schedule and named three squads for the series. Australia’s senior national team vice-captain Tahlia McGrath will lead both the T20 and 50-over teams while emerging all-rounder Charli Knott will captain the four-day side.

McGrath expressed her enthusiasm for the series, highlighting the challenge India A will pose and the opportunity it provides for players not involved in The Hundred, an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) competition, to prepare for a significant summer.

Some nationally contracted players, such as captain Alyssa Healy and fast bowler Darcie Brown, will not be participating in The Hundred in the UK in August. Brown, currently recovering from a foot injury, is expected to return to match fitness by early September, ahead of the World Cup.

The ‘A’ series will start with three T20Is at Brisbane’s Allan Border Field, which will also host a T20I against New Zealand in September and two ODIs against India’s senior women’s team in December. The series will then move to Mackay’s Great Barrier Reef Stadium for three 50-over games, before concluding with a four-day match at the Gold Coast District Cricket Club, offering emerging talent from both teams a rare chance to play red-ball cricket.

The squads will include Australia pacers Megan Schutt, Kim Garth, and Tayla Vlaeminck in the white-ball matches, marking their first appearance since the April tour of Bangladesh, as they prepare for the T20 World Cup in October.

Wicketkeeper Nicole Faltum will feature in the white-ball matches and as vice-captain in the four-day match with Maddy Darke taking the gloves for the four-day game. With regular Australia A players Georgia Redmayne and Amanda-Jade Wellington unavailable due to The Hundred, new opportunities have arisen for others, including 20-year-old Queensland leg-spinner Grace Parsons.

Georgia Voll, who made headlines with a double century in a ‘green v gold’ red-ball game in Adelaide earlier this year, will miss the white-ball matches but will join the squad for the four-day game. Voll, who recently played in England’s domestic competitions, is recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in late May.

National selector Shawn Flegler expressed his excitement about welcoming another Indian side to their shores for an exciting summer. He mentioned the tough battles between the two countries in the past, especially in Mackay, and expects this series to be no different. Flegler noted that this series would allow a closer look at some players who have impressed at the domestic level while giving nationally contracted players the chance to fine-tune their preparations ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup.

Later in December Australia will host India’s women in three ODIs.

Australia A squads:

T20 squad:

Maddy Darke, Sophie Day, Nicole Faltum (wk), Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth, Charli Knott (vc), Katie Mack, Tahlia McGrath (c), Grace Parsons, Megan Schutt, Courtney Sippel, Tayla Vlaeminck, Tahlia Wilson

One-day squad:

Maitlan Brown (2nd and 3rd matches only), Maddy Darke, Sophie Day, Nicole Faltum (wk), Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth, Charli Knott (vc), Katie Mack, Tahlia McGrath (c), Grace Parsons, Megan Schutt (1st match only), Courtney Sippel, Tayla Vlaeminck, Tahlia Wilson

Four-day squad:

Maitlan Brown, Maddy Darke, Sophie Day, Emma de Broughe, Nicole Faltum (wk)(vc), Tess Flintoff, Charli Knott (c), Katie Mack, Lilly Mills, Grace Parsons, Kate Peterson, Courtney Sippel, Georgia Voll

Women’s Australia A v India A Series