Australia squad for ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024 announced

Defending champions Australia have named their squad for the Women's T20 World Cup 2024. Alyssa Healy will lead the 15-member squad with Tahila McGrath named as vice captain.

The squad will have the responsibility of defending the title previously won under the captaincy of Meg Lanning. Australia have previously won the title six times.

For the first three tournaments, there were eight participants, but this number has been raised to ten from the 2014 edition onwards.

In July 2022, the ICC announced that Bangladesh would host the 2024 tournament and that England would host the 2026 tournament. The number of teams in the 2026 tournament is also set to increase to twelve.

As of 2023, a total of eight editions have been held and eleven teams have participated, Australia, having won the tournament a record six times (2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, 2023) the most successful team, while England (2009), and West Indies (2016) have one title each.

Due to social and political turmoil in Bangladesh, in August the ICC decided to shift the event to UAE from Bangladesh although the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) continues to host the event.

The matches are scheduled to be played in Dubai and Sharjah. Defending champions Australia defeated South Africa to win the title for the sixth time last year.

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In Alyssa Healy, Australia have a robust captain. With players like Elysse Perry, Sophie Molineux, Grave Garris, Tahil McGrath, and Alana King, the Australian squad have a very experienced side.

The addition of Phoebe Litchfield and Kim Garth adds the exuberance of youth to the squad. Healy will want to make an impact in the tournament and start her legacy as Australia's T20I captain.

Cricket Australia’s Head of Performance (Women’s Cricket) and National Selector, Shawn Flegler have praised the balance of the squad saying that the addition of a few new players adds to the depth of the side.

"This is the first time in a long time we've had our entire contract list available for selection ahead of a World Cup and it's resulted in a really stable and balanced squad. The pace duo of Tayla and Darcie is one we've been wanting to unleash for a while and is a real point of difference for us." Flegler said.

“It’s the first time Alyssa Healy will have the reins at a World Cup and we’ve already seen what she and Tahlia McGrath bring from a leadership perspective, so it’s exciting for them to have this opportunity to lead their country on the biggest stage. Phoebe Litchfield is a real X-factor for us and will be well supported by an experienced group at her first World Cup. The pace duo of Tayla Vlaeminck and Darcie Brown is one we’ve been wanting to unleash for a while and is a real point of difference for us." he added further.

Australian spinner Jess Jonassen was unlucky to miss out on the World Cup squad. Flegler said that she missed out due to a certain combination that the team wanted to go ahead with.

"Jess Jonassen is again unlucky to miss out but we've been impressed with the way she's bounced back and we'll continue to monitor her form ahead of the home summer," he said.

The same squad will face New Zealand in three T20Is in Mackay and Brisbane before heading to the UAE.

Australia squad for Women's T20 World Cup

Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath (vc), Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Tayla Vlaeminck.

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