Women’s T20 World Cup | Georgia Wareham returns to national set-up; Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen included despite injuries
Australia picked Georgia Wareham ahead of Amanda-Jade Wellington.
|(Getty)
Australia have made a surprise call in their squad for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa, including Georgia Wareham, who last played for the country in October 2021. The defending champions have also picked Alyssa Healy and Jess Jonassen, who were injured in India in their last series.
Australia picked Georgia Wareham ahead of Amanda-Jade Wellington among the leg-spinners in their squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup title defence in South Africa, scheduled to begin on February 10. Following an ACL injury in October 2021, Wareham recently returned to action for Victoria during the WBBL. The 23-year-old has a magnificent T20I record, picking 36 wickets at an average of just 13.52 and an economy of 5.80 after 35 outings.
Along with Wareham, Meg Lanning, who will make her international comeback against Pakistan next week following her prolonged break from the game, will captain the side as well.
"Seeing Meg and Georgia back in action for Victoria has been exciting," national selector Shawn Flegler said in a statement. "Both bring a wealth of experience to the group, which is always crucial during major tournaments. Georgia in particular has had a tough run of injuries, but she's shown a great deal of resilience and her return is a real boost for the side."
Meanwhile, Alyssa Healy will miss Australia’s upcoming three-match ODI series against Pakistan at home but is expected to feature in the bilateral T20I series against the same team and the Aussies' T20 World Cup defence. Healy suffered a calf strain during their five-match T20I series in India last month, and she had Jess Jonassen in company following the latter’s hamstring injury. Interestingly, Jonassen to has made to the cut in the World Cup squad.
"Alyssa and Jess are expected to be fully fit and firing after minor injuries as well, so we've got a full-strength squad with plenty of variety with both bat and ball if required," Flegler added.
The same World Cup squad for Australia will play in their home T20I series against Pakistan.
Australia T20 World Cup squad: Meg Lanning (c), Alyssa Healy, Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham
