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The Australia Women’s National Cricket Team have received a massive boost ahead of their three-match T20I series against New Zealand, with captain Sophie Molineux declaring herself fit for the series opener at North Sydney Oval on Sunday, October 18.
The left-arm spinner had missed the ODI series against Bangladesh because of a hip injury, but she has now recovered well and is ready to return to the action on Sunday against New Zealand.
Sophie Molineux declares herself fit for New Zealand T20Is
Sophie Molineux picked up her hip injury after returning from The Hundred and was forced to miss all three ODIs against Bangladesh. Amid this, India vs Zimbabwe women’s T20I tickets: Free entry for women in Raipur.
However, the Australia Women’s National Cricket Team captain trained well in Brisbane last week and has now declared herself ready for the New Zealand T20Is.
Sophie Molineux told the media on Friday, as quoted in by cricket.com.au, “I'm ready to go. It was pretty unfortunate timing in terms of getting back from The Hundred and having to miss out on those games against Bangladesh, but I'm really excited to get back out there on Sunday.”
Phoebe Litchfield remains doubtful AUS-W vs NZ-W series
However, Australia are still waiting to see if Phoebe Litchfield will be fit for the opening game. The young batter suffered a hip muscle strain while batting in the second ODI against Bangladesh in Brisbane and missed the final match.
Litchfield did not even take part in Australia's training session at Cricket Central on Friday. With the T20I series taking place over just five days, Australia is unlikely to rush her back before she is fully fit. Amid this, Watch: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi warns paparazzi with “thuk jaoge” remark.
Sharing an update on Litchfield, Sophie Molineux said, "Phoebe's tracking is OK ... unsure (if she'll play) just yet; we'll just keep an eye on her over the next couple of days.”
Sophie Molineux drops big hint on Lucy Hamilton ahead of Australia-New Zealand T20I series
Australia could also bring back young fast bowler Lucy Hamilton for the T20I series against the White Ferns. The 20-year-old missed the ODI series against Bangladesh because of a minor quad injury but returned to action for the Governor-General's XI on Thursday evening.
Hamilton bowled with good pace in the match, which was reduced to 10 overs per side because of wet conditions. However, she struggled with her run-up in her second over, bowling four no-balls and one wide. Despite that, Hamilton remains in the race for a place in Australia XI.
Sophie Molineux was happy to see her back on the field and believes she will get better as she spends more time playing. She added, “It was great to see Luce getting back out there last night. She bowled fast, and she'll only get better with more time out in the middle.
I think it's always a tricky (selection) conversation because of the depth of our squad, and we've really prided ourselves on having 14 or 15 really strong players putting their hand up for each game, so there's going to be some hard conversations and some trickier decisions to make.”
Australia and New Zealand to fight for the Rose Bowl
The series will also be special because Australia and New Zealand will compete for the Rose Bowl trophy. Earlier, the trophy was awarded only during the ODI series between the two teams. However, with fewer ODI series now being played, the winners of the T20I series will also get this trophy.
Australia has held the trophy since February 2000 and has kept it for more than 26 years. The long wait for New Zealand to reclaim it adds another interesting angle to the rivalry.
Molineux signed off by saying, “Twenty-six years is a long time. There's a special rivalry between New Zealand and Australia, and it's been a long-standing one. Looking back over the last 20 years, there's been some really competitive Rose Bowl series, and now to be able to play for (the trophy) twice within six months is really exciting.”
