Australia ‘A’, India ‘A’ name squads for women's series in December
The 13-member and 15-member squads for the three one-dayers and three T20Is between Australia A and India A have been announced by the respective boards. The two teams, with an eye on the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia, have given opportunities for the fringe players to impress.
T20 World Cup hopefuls from the Australian and Indian women’s teams will have a chance to make their case next month when the two sides meet in Queensland. Cricket Australia have named two separate 13-player T20 and one-day squads — with ten players common to both — for the series, which will be played in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, while India will travel with one group of 15 players.
The Australian T20 squad includes debutant Erin Burns and squad member Heather Graham, who were part of the group that whitewashed West Indies and Sri Lanka in recent months. The board has also offered experienced international Elyse Villani a chance to state a case for a recall after being omitted for those recent tours.
"It’s important that that the depth of Australian Cricket continues to develop, with those players who have already had a taste of international cricket continuing to build their game and develop so they’re ready to go when the opportunity presents itself," Shawn Flegler, the National Selector, said, reported cricket.com.au.
"With a T20 World Cup early next year and an ODI World Cup the following year, it’s exciting to see so many talented youngsters coming through the pathway and performing well and this tour is really going to test them against what we expect to be a strong Indian side," Flegler added.
The series begins on December 12 with the first of three one-dayers at Allan Border Field in Brisbane, before the T20s, starting a week later on December 19, at the Gold Coast’s Bill Pippen Oval.
India’s squad will be led by experienced international Veda Krishnamurthy and will feature 15-year-old Shafali Verma, who played an integral role with two half-centuries against the West Indies senior side earlier this month.
Australia A One-Day squad: Maitlan Brown, Heather Graham, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Bridget Patterson, Georgia Redmayne, Sammy Jo Johnson, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Rachel Trenaman, Belinda Vakarewa, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Tahlia Wilson
Australia A T20 Squad: Maitlan Brown, Erin Burns, Josie Dooley, Heather Graham, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Bridget Patterson, Sammy Jo Johnson, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Belinda Vakarewa, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington
India A squad: Veda Krishnamurthy (c), Anuja Patil (vc), Priya Punia, Shafali Verma, Harleen Deol, Devika Vaidya, D Hemalatha, Tanusree Sarkar, Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper), Nuzhat Parween, Mansi Joshi, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Manali Dakshini, TP Kanwar
