Southern Stars Ashes squad revealed

Fast bowler Holly Ferling will return from injury while three players could earn their first Baggy Greens when the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars head to the Women’s Ashes in England in July.

The 15 players who will travel to the British Isles for one Test, three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals were revealed by the Women’s National Selection Panel today.

Commonwealth Bank VicSpirit batter Nicole Bolton and leg-spinner Kristen Beams could join Konica Minolta Queensland fire allrounder Jess Jonassen in making their Test debuts, while Ferling returns after a back injury forced her to miss last year’s international series against Pakistan and the West Indies.

Image Id: ~/media/481E284EABDA4009B64B3A77DF373AF4Jess Jonassen is fit and firing for the Ashes // Getty Images

“Holly Ferling has been training very well at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane and will spearhead our pace attack with Ellyse Perry,” said WNSP chair of selectors Julie Savage, before adding that while the Southern Stars included some of the world’s best cricketers, the success of the playing group was due to the depth of talent.

“Jess Jonassen will give the team a versatile all-round option having developed from a successful short-form bowler to a match-winning allrounder with her consistent ability to clear the fence when batting.

Quick single: Stars leaving no stone unturned pre-Ashes

“Nicole Bolton produced a memorable ODI debut in the last Ashes series in January 2014, bringing up a century at the MCG, and has followed this with a number of big scores, proving she can bat for a very long time with great concentration.

“Kristen Beams has come into the group as a mature player having dealt with a previous shoulder injury to produce wonderful results domestically. She is a leg-spin bowler who can be a wicket-taking weapon in a Test match.”

Image Id: ~/media/DB8CE7CB39694D85A6A98F786C5DB139Kristen Beams debuted for the Stars' limited overs teams last year // Getty Images

The Test and ODI squads will feature the same 14-player group, while there is one change to the T20 squad, where Queensland allrounder Delissa Kimmince will come in for Bolton.

“Delissa Kimmince comes into our T20 squad as an athletic and explosive all-round player,” Savage said. “She will be tricky to bowl to because she has the ability to play innovative shots coupled with traditional stroke play.”

Jonassen is back training after missing the second half of the Women's National Cricket League season due to knee surgery, while Bolton and Beams both said they were eagerly anticipating their first tours on English soil.

"It's my second time playing in the Ashes but my first in the UK so that will be a bit of a different challenge," Bolton said. 

Image Id: ~/media/E78E93A1BC874522943D3ABAC9889C83Nicole Bolton has been named in the Stars squad // Getty Images

Beams, who debuted for the Stars against Pakistan last year, said being able to wear the Baggy Green would be "the ultimate".

“It really is the ultimate, to be playing in an Ashes series away from home. Everyone is really excited about what might be,” Beams said.

The Women’s Ashes will run from July 21 to August 31 and are determined on a points system, with a Test win worth four points, while ODIs and T20Is are worth two apiece.

It will be the third time the Women’s Ashes have used the points system and the Meg Lanning-led Southern Stars will be eager to regain the trophy after England were triumphant in the 2013 series in England and again six months later on Australian soil.

Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars Women’s Ashes squad: Meg Lanning (captain), Alex Blackwell (vice-captain), Kristen Beams, Nicole Bolton (Test and ODI squads only), Jess Cameron, Sarah Coyte, Rene Farrell, Holly Ferling, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince (T20 International squad only), Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani.

Image Id: ~/media/B3D8267F11924AE4BAFC06429CFC459D