The Australian women’s cricket team is gearing up for an action-packed summer, soon after the conclusion of the ongoing 10th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), and are hopeful of having the likes of Darcie Brown, Alyssa Healy, and Sophie Molineux fit and ready for the home Women’s Ashes 2025, as Cricket Australia revealed squad for upcoming India and New Zealand series.
It is understood that there are a few injury concerns in the Australian camp, especially for the players, who otherwise would have been a crucial member of the planning group, if not for the injury. The Australian skipper suffered a foot injury in a game against Pakistan that ended her campaign in the 9th edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. She seemed to have recovered from the injury after missing an initial few games for the Sydney Sixers in WBBL 10.
However, she suffered a knee injury while playing for the Sydney Sixers, as a result, she was subsequently ruled out of the rest of the ongoing 10th edition of the WBBL, and as per the latest reports, she is set to miss their upcoming three-match ODI home series against India from 5th December 2024 to 11th December 2024. Alyssa Healy’s availability will be reassessed before the subsequent New Zealand series later in the same month and Tahlia McGrath will be leading Australia in the absence of their regular skipper Alyssa Healy.
The 26-year-old left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux, complained of soreness in her knee after leading the Melbourne Renegades in their first four games of their campaign. She was also sidelined for the next few WBBL games for the Renegades due to knee concerns. However, she has returned to action but is still cautious about her knee.
“Sophie [Molineux] has returned to play following knee soreness which will continue to be managed over the course of the summer,” the Australian Physiotherapist Kate Beerworth shared about monitoring Sophie Molineux’s sore knee throughout the course of their upcoming international assignments.
Pacer Tayla Vlaeminck also has been out of action since dislocating her shoulder while fielding on the boundary rope in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the UAE. However, she has completed a successful surgery on her injured shoulder and hopefully will soon begin her rehab.
The young 21-year-old speedster Darcie Brown also suffered a hip muscle strain and as a result, was ruled out for a few games for the Adelaide Strikers. However, she is back on track and has resumed training.
After the conclusion of the ODI bilateral series against India, Australia will visit New Zealand for another three-match ODI series from 19th December 2024 to 23rd December 2024 and will then host an all-format Women’s Ashes from 12th January 2025 to 2nd February 2025.
(Inputs sourced from cricket.com.au)
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