Aussie stars eye end of summer slog

Australia’s top female players will switch their attention to the 50-over game ahead of next month’s one-day international series against New Zealand.

The Rebel WBBL wrapped up on Saturday but there’s no end in sight just yet to what’s already been a jam-packed summer for Australia’s leading players.

The 50-over domestic Women’s National Cricket League returns on Friday for the final weekend of matches, before the final is held on February 9.

Then, the Australian squad will gather in Perth to prepare for the opening match of the Commonwealth Bank ODI series against the White Ferns, beginning at the WACA Ground on February 22.

A second ODI will be played at Adelaide’s Karen Rolton Oval on February 24, before the series finale at Melbourne’s Junction Oval on March 3.

The 2018-19 season started way back on September 29 for the Australian women, when they began a three-match T20 series, also against New Zealand.

From there they travelled to Malaysia to play Pakistan, flew directly to the Caribbean for what was ultimately a successful T20 World Cup campaign before returning home just days later for an action-packed two months of WBBL cricket.

But despite a few injury concerns, Australia head coach Matthew Mott believes his players are coping well with what’s been their busiest summer yet.

“They manage themselves really well and I think the state programs have been really good at giving them days off and keeping them fresh,” Mott told cricket.com.au ahead of the WBBL finals.

“And we’ll keep that dialogue going. It’s been a great mental and physical challenge for everyone, especially after the highs of the World Cup and to come back (straight into the WBBL), that’s what professional cricket is about. It’s hard work at times and a bit of a grind, but you can still perform and manage yourself.

“That’s one thing we bang on about, managing yourself in between those games and training sessions so you get away from cricket and refresh a bit.” 

Australian captain Meg Lanning missed five games for Perth Scorchers due to a back concern but returned in blazing form with five scores above 70, while vice-captain Rachael Haynes and allrounder Sophie Molineux both opted to sit out a game or two during the WBBL regular season in order to refresh themselves.

“(It’s about) understanding the big picture, it’s a long tournament and you want them to come through it,” Mott said. 

“At some point you’ve got to admit you need a bit of freshening up with the big thing to be fresh for finals time.” 

Batter Elyse Villani is one player the Australian staff will be keeping close tabs on, after she missed the end of the Scorchers’ WBBL|04 campaign due to a hamstring injury. 

Young quick Tayla Vlaeminck, who made her ODI debut against Pakistan in Malaysia, suffered a knee injury during the WBBL that ruled her out of the remainder of the Renegades’ season, while Scorchers batter Nicole Bolton missed her team’s final three matches after taking personal leave. 

“There’s been a few niggling injuries (but) it was almost to be expected after such a heavy workload and coming straight back in,” Mott said.

“But everyone seems to be managing it okay and we’ve got an eye to that NZ series, so it’s just keeping on top of a few little niggles at the moment.” 

And despite a hectic summer, the form of Australia’s batters is a pleasing sign for Mott and his fellow selectors. 

Ellyse Perry smashed the WBBL tournament runs record with 777 at 86.33, while Beth Mooney (486 at 37.28), Alyssa Healy (445 at 31.78), Villani (403 at 44.77), Lanning (389 at 48.62) and Haynes (376 at 31.33) were all in the top 10 run scorers.

“All our batters are in great form at the moment and that augers well for a good series,” Mott said.

“We’ll need to be (in form) against the Kiwis because their players are in pretty good form in the WBBL as well.”