Another star emerges as McGrath repays the faith

As Australia sank to the lowest point of their run chase last night, and Tahlia McGrath prepared to walk to the wicket, she heard a familiar voice in her ear.

Though Matthew Mott had just witnessed four of his star batters – Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner – come and go for a combined 20 runs, the head coach refused to let the moment get the better of him.

Instead, he viewed it as a carpe diem moment for one of his hitherto peripheral players. And so the message was conveyed.

"Motty made the comment to me before I went out, 'This is your opportunity – you haven't really have a good crack at it'," said McGrath, whose career-best 74 in partnership with Beth Mooney turned the second ODI against India on its head.

"Experience is pretty valuable and I've played a lot of cricket, (but) not so much at this top level, so it was just about backing myself that this was just another game of cricket."

At 25 and having made her ODI debut almost five years ago, there have been a few more chapters written in McGrath's story to date in comparison with the bright young brigade of fast bowlers alongside her in this Australian squad.

In fact among the nine pace-bowling options in this Australian group, only Nicola Carey (28) and Ellyse Perry (30) are her senior.

Early in her career, it was with Perry that McGrath was compared; the tall, athletic build, the skilful bowling, the well-balanced stance and the technically correct shot-making all called to mind the superstar allrounder.

Yet McGrath's rise has been starkly different. After a Test debut in 2017, there were two serious back injuries, long stretches of rehab, and dips in form that left her questioning whether she should abandon bowling altogether.

But Mott and head national selector Shawn Flegler kept the faith, keeping the South Australian on the radar with selection in the 2019 Australia A squad to tour England, and then last year handing her a Cricket Australia contract for the first time.

And on Friday night in Mackay, that belief was repaid, as McGrath showcased her impressive pace-bowling to claim 3-45 before her high-class 74 from 77 balls – which included a stunning cover-drive that was perhaps the shot of the match – changed the complexion of the contest.

The tall right-armer said that she had been focusing on the strategy around when to employ the many variations she possesses, and feels better placed having worked hard with Australia's bowling coaches on that aspect of her game.

"It just goes to show the (benefits of the) investment you make in players like 'T-Mac' (McGrath)," pointed out Mooney. "She's evolved her game massively in the last couple of years since she's been involved in the (national) set-up.

"She came in (against India) and looked like she was batting on a completely different wicket to what we were at the start.

"She's also a hugely skilful bowler. Her spell the other day (in game one) where she was swinging it both ways and really troubling some of the best players in the world, for someone that's so raw in terms of her experience in international cricket, it's really exciting for Australian cricket.

"We just keep churning out these players who can come out on the big stage and look like they've been there for years, and T-Mac's no different."

For McGrath, who looks to have come through the other side of her many fast-bowling injuries, last night's epic win was a breakthrough with both bat and ball; in her six ODIs prior, she had not reached 30, and taken just one wicket.

"For me it's just about being brave in my ability," she says. "That's something that the Australian team is really good at – making sure you're fearless and back(ing) your ability.

"I got a lot of confidence going in (to the series), just with the faith that Motty and Meg (Lanning, captain) put in not only me but the whole team, and just backing us to go out there and play some fearless cricket."

CommBank Series v India

Australia lead India 4-0 on points

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, Stella Campbell, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Redmayne, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

India Test and ODI squad: Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur (vc), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Punam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh, Ekta Bisht.

India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh (wk), Harleen Deol, Arundhati Reddy, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh.

First ODI:Australia won by nine wickets

Sep 24: Australia won by five wickets

Sep 26: Third ODI, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay

Sep 30 – Oct 3: Test match, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast (D/N)

Oct 7: First T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast

Oct 9: Second T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast

Oct 10: Third T20, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast