Southern Stars turn up the heat in Chennai

The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars are embracing the hot and humid subcontinent conditions as their Women’s World T20 preparations ramp up in Chennai.

The Southern Stars squad slogged it out in a gruelling centre wicket session on Saturday, following it up with a lighter – but no less steamy - skills session at MA Chidambraram Stadium on Sunday ahead of their sole warm-up match against West Indies.

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With the mercury hitting the high 30s, the conditions are in stark contrast to the cooler climes of New Zealand where Australia wrapped up their trans-Tasman series just over a week ago, but fast bowler Rene Farrell said the team were relishing the challenge.

"It's just a fantastic place to be, a great culture to be around … and we're just embracing it," Farrell said on Sunday.

"We had a very good first day at training, it was very tough and really hot and we were struggling to get through, but it was a great session

"We got back into a skills session today and there's been some great contests in the nets, a few fiery bouncers being bowled which is good, but we're really enjoying the conditions."

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Tomorrow will be the first time since 2007 Australia have played at Chennai's MA Chidambraram Stadium, but many of the 15-player squad have previously tasted success in Indian conditions, having won the women's one-day World Cup title in the subcontinent nation in 2013, something Farrell believes will help the southern Stars.

"We've played in similar conditions in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in World T20s before too, so we're looking forward to the challenge and we'll take it on," Farrell said.

Sunday's training session also saw the Southern Stars with their full complement of 15 players for the first time, following the arrival of Sydney Thunder allrounder Nicola Carey, who was a late addition to the squad after Grace Harris was ruled out on Thursday having been diagnosed with DVT.

Farrell said the uncapped 22-year-old would bring plenty to the group, both on and off-field.

"It's great, I play club cricket with Nic and I play with her in the WBBL and for NSW too, so it's like having a piece of home around me," she said.

"She fits well into the team, it's a bit refreshing to have her around at the moment and she's pumped us up."

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The West Indies warm-up presents the Southern Stars with their final opportunity for match practice ahead of their tournament opener against South Africa on Friday and Farrell said the talented, hard-hitting Caribbean team would present a good challenge for the defending champions.

With five Sydney Thunder players in the 15-player Southern Stars squad, there are also more than a few players keen to take on West Indies captain and Thunder import Stafanie Taylor.

"It was great to see her in the hotel but tomorrow's its game on," Farrell added. "Hopefully I can get her out and give her a cheeky little sledge.

"We've just got to stop her from scoring runs, so if we can get her tied down and get her frustrated we'll have a chance to get her out quite cheaply."

Tipped by skipper Meg Lanning as the player who could prove the game-changer for Australia this tournament, Farrell said she was looking forward to rising to the challenge.

"That was really nice," the quick said. "I've got a lot of respect for Meg, she's the best player in the world, so to have her highlight me is a great honour.

"I'll have to give her a few rupees for that. I just want to do my job in the team and hopefully if everyone can do that, it'll go a long way to winning this tournament."