Aussie coach selects his WBBL stars

As records have been smashed during a Rebel WBBL season full of highlights, Australia head coach Matthew Mott has been keeping a watchful eye over the competition.

With a busy year of international cricket looming – including a one-day international series against New Zealand next month, an away Ashes tour, a tour of the Caribbean and a home series against Sri Lanka, all before the T20 World Cup on Australian soil early next year – this year’s Big Bash season has been a prime chance for players to push their cases for higher honours.

Breaking into the No.1 ranked Australian side is no easy feat, particularly after they claimed the 2018 T20 World Cup title in the Caribbean late last year, but Mott has revealed to cricket.com.au some of the players outside the Australian contract list who have impressed him the most.

They include tournament leading wicket taker Heather Graham, an allrounder from Perth Scorchers, and Brisbane Heat allrounder Sammy-Jo Johnson, who has enjoyed a breakout season with both bat and ball.

Graham collected 22 wickets at 16.95 with her right-arm pace through WBBL|04, while Johnson picked up 19 wickets at 17.73 to go with 256 runs at the impressive strike rate of 140.65.

“Heather’s done a great job, her batting we’ve seen evolve a lot and she had a great preseason with the National Performance Squad so she’s closely monitored,” Mott told cricket.com.au.

“She’s probably got to find her way into the team as a genuine allrounder, but we love what she brings with the ball, she brings change of pace and sets good fields for herself and is a good fielder too.

“Probably more in the short-term she’d be considered for the T20 team than one-day cricket, but there’s a lot of T20 cricket coming up and if she keeps performing she’ll be in and around.

“Sammy-Jo has done well as well, she went away with the Australia A team last year and continued to impress.

“She’s just a wholehearted competitor and those are the sorts of traits we like, she’s really hungry to do well and has been given an opportunity up the top of the order with the Heat and has really seemed to seize it.”

Mott’s also been impressed by Hobart Hurricanes allrounder Erin Fazackerley, a towering quick whose bowling was hampered by injury through the season but who also produced several exciting performances with the bat at the top of the order, including a breakthrough 52 from 41 deliveries to end the season.

The Heat’s Grace Harris, an off-spinning allrounder who struck a record-fastest century early in the season and who has also been economical with the ball, is another who remains in the sights of selectors, having last represented Australia in late 2016.

“Fazackerley has made a bit of a name for herself and surprised a few people going out and batting with a pretty free spirit,” Mott said.

“She’s so athletic as a fast bowler, she’s someone who’s not that long into cricket really but has a good package that would be interesting and she has the potential to bowl quite quick.

“Grace Harris is another one who’s probably surprised a few.

“She looks in career-best from and we just need that to continue.

“She is in an unfortunate space where we do have a lot of competition from spin bowling allrounders (with Ashleigh Gardner, Sophie Molineux and Jess Jonassen holding Australian contracts) but she’s a very good cricketer, Grace, and we’ve always got an eye on her.”

Australia’s selectors will face several tough decisions when it comes time to name a 13-player group to play the White Ferns. They took 14 players to Malaysia to play Pakistan last October, while star allrounder Jess Jonassen injured for that series but is now fit and has played every game for the Heat in WBBL|04.

Mott doesn’t expect too many changes, given his No.1 ranked team’s whitewash series win against Pakistan.

However there are several injury questions around young quick Tayla Vlaeminck, who injured her knee during a Renegades training session, and Scorchers batter Elyse Villani, who is recovering from a hamstring complaint, while opener Nicole Bolton missed the end of the WBBL regular season for the Scorchers due to personal reasons.

“There’s still a chance for players to put their hand up,” Mott said.

“The selection panel is getting together at the (WBBL) final to have some preliminary discussions.

“Our one day and T20 teams are pretty similar at the moment and that’s not to say there won’t be others considered from outside (that group) but we’re also comfortable with that squad we took away (to Malaysia and the T20 World Cup) as a 15, it’s pretty clear they’re our best 15 at the moment and we’ve got to cut down that group so there’ll be some tough decisions to be made there.”