Amy Smith returns to the Australia U19 squad for the U19 tri-series in Sri Lanka.
The Australian under-19 squad is all set to tour Sri Lanka for a white-ball series that includes a 6-match T20 series and a three-match One Day series. Australia will face Sri Lanka and England in a tri-series. The 19-year-old leg-spinner makes her return to the squad for the Australia U19 squad for a tri-series in Sri Lanka after missing out on participating for Tasmania for a few games due to a neck injury in the ongoing edition of the National Women’s Cricket League (WNCL).
Australia have named their 15-member squad for the tri-series against Sri Lanka and England. Former Australian spinner Kristen Beams will be coaching the young guns in Sri Lanka.
Australia Squad for the under-19 tri-series in Sri Lanka
Bonnie Berry, Maggie Clark, Samara Dulvin, Sienna Eve, Lucy Finn, Hasrat Gill, Lucy Hamilton, Amy Hunter, Eleanor Larosa, Grace Lyons, Ines McKeon, Juliette Morton, Kate Pelle, Amy Smith, and Tegan Williamson.
Players to watch out for:
Amy Smith, Lucy Hamilton, Kate Pelle, and Maggie Clark
Amy Smith
She represented the Hobart Hurricanes in the 9th edition of the WBBL. She picked up 9 wickets at a strike rate of 18.66 and an average of 22.88 in 12 innings. She is currently representing Tasmania in the Women’s National Cricket League. She has picked up 6 wickets with the ball in 4 innings so far. Her best performance with the ball came on 5th January 2024 against New South Wales when she returned with brilliant match figures (5/33) in her spell. Apart from her exploits with the ball, she also scored a well-deserved half-century (57 off 88 balls) against South Australia on 14th December 2023.
Lucy Hamilton
The 17-year-old pace bowling all-rounder was a part of the Inaugural edition of the Women’s Under-19 World Cup for Australia. She had an impressive campaign as she picked up 5 wickets in 6 innings in the Under-19 World Cup. She was picked up by Brisbane Heat and played 3 matches in the 9th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League. She is currently representing the Queensland Women led by skipper Georgia Redmayne. She scored 33 runs with the bat in their first encounter against Tasmania and she continued her impressive performances against the Tasmania women as she returned with match figures (2/30) in her spell in their 2nd encounter against Tasmania.
Maggie Clark
The 16-year-old pacer was the leading wicket-taker of the Inaugural edition of the Women’s Under-19 World Cup with 12 wickets to her name at an average of 6.25 in 5 innings for Australia U19.
Kate Pelle
The 18-year-old wicket-keeper batter came in as a replacement for the regular skipper Alyssa Healy for Sydney Sixers in the 9th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League.
“The series in Sri Lanka will give the squad the chance to play in a multi-format series and challenge them to adapt to different conditions,” coach Kristen Beams speaks about the importance of adapting to different conditions. The next edition of the Women’s Under-19 World Cup will be in January 2025.
(Quotes sourced from Cricket Australia Press Release)
