Replacing DK: Aussies reset for Comm Games push

Rising star Hannah Darlington has been earmarked as one of the leading contenders to replace Delissa Kimmince for Australia's quest to win a historic gold medal at next year's Commonwealth Games.

Australia's main focus in the next 12 months is the one-day World Cup in New Zealand early next year, but selectors are also looking to build the T20 side towards the Comm Games in Birmingham in 2022 and their T20 World Cup defence the following year.

Three-time World Cup winner Kimmince, who announced her retirement from top-level cricket on Thursday, has been an integral part of the 20-over set-up in recent years. She played 10 of 12 matches in their back-to-back World Cup wins in 2018 and 2020, bowling predominantly in the middle overs and conceding just 5.7 runs an over.

Head selector Shawn Flegler conceded replacing the 31-year-old will be difficult but added Sydney Thunder star Darlington can play a similar role.

"There's probably no like-for-like right now so you need to change your strategy a little bit," he said.

"But someone like Hannah Darlington, who we took to New Zealand to get experience in that environment, she has a similar skill set to Delissa. Heather Graham has done something similar as well, so there's a couple of players in and around the group or just outside who have had opportunities.

"We've got a little bit of time between now and the Comm Games and the next T20 World Cup, so it was a great chance to give Hannah an eye towards how our environment works and what she needs to do to try and get her spot on the next tour."

It was announced in 2019 that an eight-team T20 tournament for women will be held at the 2022 Games in Birmingham, with all matches to be played at Edgbaston. Cricket has featured just once before at the quadrennial event, with a men's 50-over tournament played as part of the Kuala Lumper Games in 1998, when Australia won the silver medal.

As the man in charge of picking a team that has won consecutive T20 World Cup titles and is riding a record-breaking winning run in one-day cricket, Flegler conceded one of his biggest challenges is finding ways to blood new players on the international stage.

In announcing a list of 15 centrally contracted players this week, he acknowledged the batting depth that had come to the fore in this season's WNCL led by the likes of Elyse Villani, Bridget Patterson and Georgia Redmayne, who all had strong seasons but were overlooked for a CA contract.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Flegler also noted the number of pace and seam bowlers at his disposal, mentioning Maitlan Brown, Belinda Vakarewa, Lauren Cheatle, Courtney Sippell, Sammy Jo Johnson, Teneale Peschel and Stella Campbell as well as contracted allrounders Annabel Sutherland and Tahlia McGrath as players of interest.

Given the pandemic-related budget cuts at Cricket Australia last year included a pause on the National Performance Squad program as well as Australia A tours for both men and women, giving the second tier of players an opportunity at a higher level remains difficult.

Flegler hopes an A series against England alongside the Ashes this summer as well as the return of the Australia v Australia A concept either this year or next will give the next generation of players a chance to shine.

"There's a great list of players that helps our depth, but you can only pick 11 players each time," he said.

"Our A program obviously took a hit in the past 12 months and it's very important that we get those programs back up and running and exposing those players to international cricket again as soon as we can.

"If we can, we'll try and get that (Australia v Australia A series) before the international season kicks off again. If we can't do it then, we'll look to do it post season and use it as part of our preparation for the Commonwealth Games as well. That's obviously in July next year so we'll have a bit of a window post next season to get that in if we need to.

"I think it's a really good concept and it's a great opportunity to do it now while we have that depth and I think it'll be a great few games to play."