Strano eyes chance as Aussies depart for NZ tour

Molly Strano was glad she at least had a few days to pack after her latest unexpected call-up to the Australia squad.

Strano was a late addition to the touring party for Australia's upcoming ODI and T20I series in New Zealand, replacing Annabel Sutherland after the pace-bowling allrounder was diagnosed with a stress reaction in her right femur.

The off-spinner had no idea anything was amiss with her Victorian teammate before receiving the call from the national selectors, and once again was struck with the uneasy combination of feelings that accompany a call-up due to the misfortunate of another.

"I got the call from (national selector) Shawn Flegler to tell me I'd been activated as the injury replacement, which I'm becoming accustomed to," Strano told cricket.com.au earlier this month following her final domestic 50-over game for Victoria.

"At that point I wasn't aware of Belsy's injury, so it was a bit of a shock to get that phone call, and you're gutted to hear a teammate has gone down in those circumstances too, with a long-term injury.

"It's never a nice feeling when you're a replacement player and you get called up in those circumstances but nevertheless I'm looking forward to it."

Strano was also handed a last-minute call-up to Australia's T20 World Cup squad last February and March, after fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck – another Victorian teammate – was ruled out on the eve of the tournament.

On that occasion, Strano was packing her bags and jumping on a flight to Sydney the same day; this time, she had a couple of weeks to prepare and to wrap her head around the idea of another two-week quarantine.

The three ODIs and three T20Is serve as an ideal preparation for Australia to get a taste for the New Zealand conditions ahead of next year's one-day World Cup, and for Strano, is it a bonus opportunity to show selectors what she can do.

The 28-year-old played two matches during last year's T20 World Cup but has yet to make her ODI debut and will be eager to add to her seven T20 caps.

"I've never been to New Zealand before, so I've never played cricket there, so that's a challenge I'm really looking forward to," Strano said.

Australia's 17-player squad departed Sydney for Christchurch on Saturday morning, and will undergo a fortnight of managed isolation ahead of the first T20I in Hamilton on March 28.

The Australian players and staff will be permitted to train at Lincoln's Bert Sutcliffe Oval from day four of their isolation period.

Strano is an old hand at quarantine, after spending two weeks in a Brisbane hotel before last September's home series against the White Ferns, but the self-confessed "raging extrovert" admitted she was not looking forward to the experience.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't (fazed)," she laughed. "But it should be fine, we'll be able to train so that's a luxury really.

"We'll all help each other out to get through those 14 days and then it's showtime."

CommBank tour of New Zealand 2021

Australia ODI & T20I Squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Molly Strano, Georgia Wareham, Belinda Vakarewa, Tayla Vlaeminck

1st T20: March 28, Seddon Park, Hamilton, 5.10pm AEDT

2nd T20: March 30, McLean Park, Napier, 1pm AEDT

3rd T20: April 1, Eden Park, Auckland, 1pm AEDT

1st ODI: April 4, Bay Oval, Tauranga, 9am AEDT

2nd ODI: April 7, Bay Oval, Tauranga, 12noon AEDT

3rd ODI: April 10, Bay Oval, Tauranga, 12noon AEDT

All matches will be shown live in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo