The Australian women’s team led by skipper Alyssa Healy is the only team from Group A to stay unbeaten in the tournament so far. As a result, they are placed comfortably at the top of the table.
The Australians suffered a huge blow in their previous game against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium. First up they lost Tayla Vlaeminck courtesy of an injury. She dislocated her right shoulder while attempting to stop a boundary, her knee got stuck in the turf as a result and ended up injuring her right shoulder. The extent of the injury was such that she has now been ruled out of the tournament. Skipper Alyssa Healy also found herself in some discomfort and as a result, she walked off in the middle of a run chase to get some treatment.
The 28-year-old pace-bowling all-rounder Heather Graham has been named as a replacement for Tayla Vlaeminck for the rest of the tournament, ahead of their last league game against India. Australia would also be sweating over the availability of their skipper Alyssa Healy, even though they have the likes of Beth Mooney to take over the keeping gloves. Heather Graham has been around the Australian set-up and recently was a part of the playing 11 in the 1st T20I against New Zealand ahead of the T20 World Cup, where also picked up one wicket with the ball in her two-over spell.
Heather made her international debut on 7th October 2019 in an ODI against Sri Lanka at the Allan Border Field, Brisbane. She made her T20I debut on 11th December 2022 against India at the DY Patil Stadium. She has picked up 8 wickets at an impressive average of 14.12 and an economy of 8.07 in five innings for her side. Her best performance with the ball for her side in the format so far came on 20th December 2022 against India in the 5th T20I of the five-match series. She returned with exceptional match figures (2-0-8-4) in her spell that also included a hat-trick. Her victims for the hattrick included Devika Vaidya, Radha Yadav, and Renuka Singh.
Heather is also a part of the Tasmanian Tigers in the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL). She has scored 103 runs at a strike rate of 109.57 and an impressive average of 51.50 in a couple of innings for her side. Her tally of runs also includes one half-century. Apart from her exploits with the bat, she has also picked up three wickets for her side in a couple of innings.
🚨 Unfortunate end 🚨
All-rounder Heather Graham is announced as a replacement for Tayla Vlaeminck in the Australia squad.#CricketTwitter #T20WorldCup #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/jSjA1MKZdN
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) October 13, 2024
She also represented Trent Rockets in the 4th edition of the Women’s Hundred. She scored 104 runs at a sensational strike rate of 160 and an impressive average of 26 in 8 innings for her side. Apart from her exploits with the bat, she has also picked up 9 wickets at an average of 18.22 and an economy of 6.88 in 8 innings with the ball for her side, demonstrating her all-round abilities.
Australia will play their last league game of the tournament tonight against India led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur in the 18th match of the tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium from 7:30 PM IST.
Loves all things female cricket
