Australia not satisfied as they eye whitewash

A series whitewash and a chance to retain the No.1 T20I ranking are added incentives for Australia as they head into today’s final T20I against Pakistan in Malaysia.

The match is Australia’s final hit-out before they fly directly to Antigua, where they’ll begin preparations for the World T20 beginning November 9.

They already hold an unassailable 2-0 series lead, but vice-captain Rachael Haynes said the Australian team was "never satisfied" and would continue looking for improvement.

"I think there’s still plenty to work on," Haynes said after Australia sealed the series with a six-wicket win on Saturday.

"One of the things within our team is we’re never satisfied with where we’re at, we’re always looking to push each other and see where we can get to with our game.

"We want to practice repeating that day in, day out.

"It doesn’t matter who our opposition is, what game it is in the series.

"It’s nice to have secured the series so far, but we want to be playing good cricket coming into the (T20) World Cup, so come game three nothing will change for us, we’ll want to go out there and put our best foot forward."

The International Cricket Council announced a change to the women’s team rankings earlier this month. Previously there was just one ranking across all formats but there are now separate ODI and T20I charts.

Australia sit atop both, but with only a narrow three-point lead over second-ranked New Zealand in the T20Is, they need to complete a 3-0 win against Pakistan if they are to go into the World T20 as the globe's No.1 side.

Pakistan are also Australia’s first opponent in the ICC tournament, and Haynes said it was crucial to continue their momentum against their seventh-ranked rivals.

"I think we’ve seen them really change gears coming out of the ODIs and into the T20s and they’ve been quite aggressive," she said.

"They’re a really dangerous side and from our perspective, we don’t want to underestimate anyone in our pool matches.

"It’s been nice to get an insight into them and it’s been good preparation so far."

Monday’s T20 will complete a six-match tour of Malaysia, the first time an Australian women’s team has toured the nation.

"It’s been a great place to play cricket," Haynes said. "Coming here we weren’t sure what it would be like playing cricket in Malaysia but the facilities have been great."

On Tuesday, Australia’s 15-player squad will fly out for the Caribbean. Their first destination is Antigua – which is hosting the tournament finals – for a warm-up game against England.

From there, they’ll travel to Guyana for a second warm-up against South Africa, ahead of their first group match on November 9.

The third and final T20I between Australia and Pakistan will begin on Monday at 10am local time (1pm AEDT).

The Pakistan Cricket Board will live stream the match and live scores will be available on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.

CommBank Tour of Malaysia

Australia T20 & World T20 squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

Pakistan T20 squad: Javeria Khan (c), Bibi Nahida, Ayesha Zafar, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Sidra Amin, Omaima Sohail, Nida Rashid, Sidra Nawaz, Sana Mir, Nashra Sundhu, Anum Amin, Natalia Parvaiz, Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Aiman Anwar

October 25: Australia won the first T20I by 64 runs

October 27: Australia won the second T20I by six wickets

October 29: Third T20I v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

2018 ICC Women's World T20  

November 9: Australia v Pakistan, Province Stadium, Guyana

November 11: Australia v Ireland, Province Stadium

November 13: Australia v New Zealand, Province Stadium

November 17: Australia v India, Province Stadium

November 22: Semi-finals, Sir Vivian Richards Ground, Antigua

November 24: Final, Sir Vivian Richards Ground