SWOT Analysis of Australia’s Squad selected for U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023

The ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 is set to get underway on 14th January and will go on till 29th January 2023. It will be hosted by South Africa and will have 41 matches in total with the finals at the JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom.

The World Cup will feature 16 teams spread across four groups:-

Which group is Australia placed in U19 Women’s World Cup 2023?

Australia is in Group A with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the United States of America.

Does Australia have warm-up matches scheduled?

Australia has warm-up matches scheduled on the 9th of January where they were defeated by India and on the 11th of January they will square off against hosts South Africa.

What are Australia’s group-stage fixtures in U19 Women’s World Cup 2023?

What is Australia’s squad for U19 Women’s World Cup 2023?

Chloe Ainsworth, Jade Allen, Charis Bekker, Paris Bowdler, Maggie Clark, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Ella Hayward, Milly Illingworth, Eleanor Larosa, Rhys McKenna, Claire Moore, Kate Pelle, Amy Smith, Ella Wilson

Non-travelling reserves: Paris Hall, Samira Dimeglio, Sara Kennedy, Olivia Henry, Ananaya Sharma

Let’s do a SWOT Analysis of Australia’s squad and objectively assess it all

Strengths

• The presence of Claire Moore: She is a solid right-hand batter who plays for New South Wales and has been a consistent performer for them over the years. She will be a crucial prospect in the batting line-up as she was the only positive in the forgettable warm-up match for Australia that they lost by 18 runs. In the WBBL, she was picked by the Sydney Sixers and is a player to watch out for. Besides her, over eight players have played domestic cricket, so the experience will come in handy for Australia who present themselves as tough contenders.

• The prowess of Rhys McKenna: She is another remarkable talent for Australia and bolsters the pace attack singlehandedly. She plays for Victoria in the domestic set-up and has also played for Melbourne Stars in the WBBL and is more than a handy fielder so Australia will be banking on her to come good.

• Ella Hayward: She is a right-arm off-spinner who was quite impressive in the warm-up game picking up a wicket while also chipping in with 17 runs, she is certainly a class player and will be one to watch out for.

Weaknesses

• Loss to India in the warm-ups: Chasing a modest 98, Australia faltered and lost by 18 runs which would be playing on their minds. Although they had a batting collapse they were almost on course to win but could not get themselves across the finish line which was disappointing and unexpected.

• Weakness against spin: Shafali Verma, a part-time spinner scalped 4 wickets in the low-scoring thriller which shows that there is some weakness in the Aussie lineup towards spin and they would want to work more on countering it.

Opportunities

• Learning curve: This World Cup presents itself as a big learning curve for Australia and they can use this as a development opportunity and put their skills to use in this professional cricketing environment and make a statement.

• To take a leaf from the book of the senior side: The Australian Women’s Team is undoubtedly the most successful team in women’s cricket and have achieved almost everything. Now, the junior team too can try to emulate the seniors and win the World Cup.

Threats

• Group stage matches threat: Australia is placed in an interesting group with the likes of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the United States of America. In all likelihood, Australia will end up on the winning side in all of these matches, they should still be wary of their opponents who can pull off an upset by unleashing spinners early on to stifle the batters.