'Massive' tri-series the first step to WT20 goal

With less than eight months remaining until the next ICC World T20 in the Caribbean this November, Australia captain Meg Lanning can’t overstate the importance of the T20I tri-series against India and England in Mumbai.

Following the end of the Commonwealth Bank Tour of India, Australia have a six-month break until their next engagement in late September, making this series crucial to their planning for the 20-over tournament.

“This is a massive series for us, coming up against two really good teams in these conditions as well,” Lanning said on Wednesday.

“We know we don’t have a lot of cricket between now and the World Cup, so we’re keen really to make sure we go well in this series and we’re going to be really tested which is great.”

Australia went through their final preparations for Thursday’s tri-series opener against India at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium on Wednesday morning, with Lanning spotted in deep discussion with coach Matthew Mott and chief selector Shawn Flegler.

Lanning confirmed following training there were still some difficult decisions to be made about the final XI, with all 14 squad members a genuine chance of playing.

“We’re getting there, it’s tough,” she said. “Everyone is in contention really.

“So it’s going to be difficult to get down to that final XI, but the great thing is we’ve got so many different options and good variety, so I’m sure we’ll see that throughout the series.

“It’s definitely going to be tough to settle on that XI.”

The return of Lanning from shoulder surgery is among the conundrums facing selectors. For the ODIs, the 26-year-old came into the spot vacated by retired vice-captain Alex Blackwell.

But given Blackwell didn’t feature in Australia’s most recent T20I series against England last November, Lanning’s return will likely force one out of the incumbent top five of Alyssa Healy, Beth Mooney, Elyse Villani, Rachael Haynes and Ellyse Perry, or see selectors alter the team balance by keeping the extra batter and removing either an allrounder or specialist bowler.

The make-up of the bowling attack is another question facing the selectors – at their disposal are the pace of spearheads Perry and Megan Schutt alongside Delissa Kimmince and Nicola Carey, while spin options include left-armer Jess Jonassen, leg-spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington, off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner and uncapped leftie Sophie Molineux.

“She’s definitely a chance to play,” Lanning said when asked about Victorian teammate Molineux’s chances of an international debut. “Everyone in the squad will be in contention and we’ve got some good variety there.

“Sophie’s been really impressive since she came into the squad over here, she’s fitted in really well and she’s showing what we can do so she’s definitely a big chance to play.”

Lanning also didn’t rule out making changes to the playing XI throughout the series in order to determine Australia’s best T20 combination.

The Australia captain knows it won’t be easy going against India and England, and says the focus for Australia first and foremost is on turning around their own recent disappointing form in the 20-over game, where they haven’t won a series of more than one match since August, 2015.

 

“Our T20 form hasn’t been where we would have liked over the past few years and we’ve spoken about that a lot as a group,” she said.

“We have to make sure we get the style of play that we want and we execute out in the middle.

“This series is a great opportunity for us to do that.

“We’ve got a bit of work to do from where we’ve been, but I think with the group we’ve got at the moment and the space we’re in at the moment as a group … I’m really excited about what this group will bring to this series.

“Everyone is in form and everyone understands their role really well, so hopefully we can translate that into the middle.”

Cricket.com.au will provide news, scores, highlights and behind-the-scenes coverage from on the ground in India, while Fox Sports will broadcast the T20I tri-series live. 

Commonwealth Bank Tour of India

Australia T20 squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Naomi Stalenberg, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Mithali Raj, Veda Krishnamurthy, Jemimah Rodrigues, Anuja Patil, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Jhulan Goswami, Shikha Pandey, Pooja Vastrakar, Rumeli Dhar, Mona Meshram.

England T20I squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Kate Cross, Alice Davidson-Richards, Sophie Ecclestone, Tash Farrant, Katie George, Jenny Gunn, Alex Hartley, Danielle Hazell, Amy Jones, Anya Shrubsole, Bryony Smith, Nat Sciver, Fran Wilson, Danni Wyatt

Warm-up match Australia beat India A by 321 runs. Report

Warm-up match Australia beat India A by seven wickets. Report

ODI series

First ODI Australia won by eight wickets. Scorecard

Second ODI Australia won by 60 runs. Scorecard

Third ODI Australia won by 97 runs. Scorecard

T20I tri-series

First T20I Australia v India, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, March 22. Live Coverage

Second T20I Australia v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 23. Live Coverage

Third T20I India v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 25. Live Coverage

Fourth T20I Australia v India, Brabourne Stadium, March 26. Live Coverage

Fifth T20I Australia v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 28. Live Coverage

Sixth T20I India v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 29. Live Coverage

Final Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, March 31. Live Coverage