Aussies in tri-series: Five things we learned

Pressure on Australia is no bad thing

A lot has been made of Australia's success in T20 International across the last two years – they came into this tri-series having won 23 of their past 26 20-over matches.

But the gap that exists between the top few teams and the rest can be a gulf, and it is fair to say Australia were not sternly tested in the six matches they played in the second half of 2019, against an injury-ravaged West Indies and a developing Sri Lanka.

Prior to that, they won two of three T20Is against England in July, at the tail-end of a multi-format Ashes series where Australia's dominance had already left the hosts bereft of confidence.

With that in mind, playing a must-win game against England on Sunday was the sort of pressure Australia would be yearning for heading into a World Cup.

"We called this our semi-final that we needed to win," allrounder Sophie Molineux said. "That finals feeling, having bit of pressure on, it's good for us to go through that experience.

"We've got the World Cup on our minds so we want to win this tri-series and build that momentum into the tournament)."

This could be the closest World Cup yet

At the end of the tri-series round robin, each of Australia, England and India have two wins, and it was only by virtue of net run-rate that England missed a spot in the final.

Australia have long been adamant that winning back-to-back World Cups will be no stroll, despite recent success and their position at the top of the rankings.

India's stunning pursuit of Australia's 173 on Saturday was proof they can beat anyone on their day and while they have yet to pull off those performances consistently, they appear much better placed than during their 2018 campaign in the West Indies, thanks largely to the emergence of Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues in the top order to back up the talents of Smriti Mandhana and take pressure off captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

England, meanwhile, present a more aggressive, positive outfit under new coach Lisa Keightley and two young spinners in particular have impressed to date in Sophie Ecclestone – a left-arm tweaker who is quickly becoming one of the world's best T20I bowlers – and new leg-spinner Sarah Glenn.

It is also worth noting that across the other side of the Tasman on Sunday, South Africa bounced back to comfortably beat New Zealand by five wickets after dropping the first two matches of their five-game series.

Tayla Vlaeminck is evolving into a match-winner

The signs were there against India last weekend, and Tayla Vlaeminck again showed how she has developed her game on Sunday when she rattled England's top-order and dismissed both openers.

Her pace has always been regarded as a weapon, but she is starting to deploy it to more devastating effect, with the experience of finally getting a full Big Bash season under her belt paying off.

That development did not escape the attention of England captain Heather Knight when the pair played together at the Hurricanes.

"I faced a lot of her (during the Big Bash)," Knight said. "She's a good talent and I made sure I got in the nets as much as I could to her."

One opener is firing, the other's in a funk

Early signs are that Beth Mooney has carried on her brilliant form from the Rebel WBBL, scoring two half-centuries in this tri-series to date. But it is a different story for her opening partner Alyssa Healy, who was dismissed cheaply again on Sunday when she holed out for one in the opening over. She now has scores of 1, 0, 1 and 9 for the tri-series – the first time since February 2013 she has failed to reach double figures in four consecutive T20Is.

It's less than ideal form heading into the T20 World Cup and also comes after a remarkable run that saw Healy average 45.23 for Australia in T20Is across a two-year period, while she was recently crowned the ICC's T20I Player of the Year for 2019.

Depth and fitness will be crucial amid a hectic schedule

Australia have used all but one of their 15-player squad during this tri-series, with a clear emphasis on testing different combinations and tactics, while getting valuable game time into all players.

The sole exception was allrounder Erin Burns, who is still recovering from the arthroscopic knee surgery she underwent last month.

Getting Burns back to full fitness and giving her time game time will be a priority for Australia, given her powerful middle-order hitting, while the squad has also experienced its share of niggles already through captain Meg Lanning's back and Sophie Molineux's hip flexor, which ruled them out of matches last weekend.

During the last T20 World Cup in 2018, Australia made just one change to their XI – bringing in Tayla Vlaeminck for a one-off group stage appearance when their semi-final berth was already secure, before returning to their original XI for the finals – but this tournament is a different story.

While in 2018 all four group matches were played at the same venue in Guyana, Australia will play in four different cities this time.

That, in combination with the hectic schedule – the entire tournament lasts just 17 days – could necessitate changes, particularly to the bowling attack.

Coach Matthew Mott hinted at as much on Friday, saying: "We're looking at this squad like anyone could play at any time … we'll be chopping and changing slightly and a lot of that will be based on the match-ups we want to do as well."

CommBank T20I tri-series

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

First T20I: India beat England by five wickets

Second T20I: England beat Australia in Super Over

Third T20I: Australia won by four wickets, Manuka Oval

Fourth T20I: England won by four wickets

Fifth T20I: India won by seven wickets

Sixth T20I: February 9, Australia won by 16 runs

Final: February 12, Junction Oval

* All matches will be broadcast on the Seven Network and Fox Cricket, live stream on Kayo and the CA Live app or listen on ABC Grandstand

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Warm-ups

February 15: Australia v West Indies, Allan Border Field

February 18: Australia v South Africa, Karen Rolton Oval

Tournament

February 21:Australia v India, Sydney Showgrounds

February 24: Australia v Sri Lanka, WACA Ground

February 27: Australia v Bangladesh, Manuka Oval 

March 2: Australia v New Zealand, Junction Oval

March 5: Semi-final 1, SCG

March 5: Semi-final 2, SCG

March 8: Final, MCG

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE

* All matches will be broadcast on Fox Cricket and Kayo, while Australia’s matches will also be broadcast on the Nine Network