Aussies bowl first as cricket returns to Comm Games

Australia are bowling first against India at Edgbaston, as T20 cricket makes its Commonwealth Games debut.

India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss, with Australia fielding a full-strength team featuring three quicks and a spin-heavy attack.

Darcie Brown, Tahlia McGrath and Megan Schutt lead the pace contingent, alongside left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen, leggie Alana King and off-spinners Ashleigh Gardner and Grace Harris.

Meanwhile Meghna Singh has been included in India’s XI after recovering from COVID and belatedly arriving in Birmingham on the eve of the match.

Meg Lanning’s squad had their first look at the Birmingham venue that is hosting women’s cricket’s first appearance at the quadrennial event on Thursday, just 24 hours out from their blockbuster opener that is likely to be played in front of a sell-out crowd.

Of the current Australian squad, only vice-captain Rachael Haynes has previously played at Edgbaston; she hit a match-winning 66no from 40 balls in England’s former T20 domestic competition in 2018, but had no memory of the game until she walked into the venue on Thursday.

India likewise have no experience playing at the iconic venue, with opener Shafali Verma the only player from either side who could lay any claim to the tag of ‘local’, having played for Birmingham Phoenix in last year’s The Hundred.

Speaking on the eve of the game, allrounder Ashleigh Gardner backed the world’s top-ranked team to quickly adjust to the conditions.

"Our team's so great at adapting, no matter what conditions are thrown up at us, to go on the run," Gardner said.

"Whether that's with bat or ball in hand, our team sums those conditions up pretty quickly."

Australia and India are grouped with lower-ranked Pakistan and outlier Barbados – representing West Indies – for the Commonwealth Games, and the winner of today’s match is likely to finish on top of the group, barring a significant upset or rain-affected matches.

With no reserve day in place for the semi-finals – they are being played on August 6, ahead of the medal matches on August 7 – finishing first in the group could prove crucial if wet weather comes into play. A reserve day is in place for the medal matches.

Australia XI: Alyssa Healy (wk), Beth Mooney, Meg Lanning (c), Tahlia McGrath, Rachael Haynes, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown

India XI: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Harleen Deol, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Rajashwari Gayakwad, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur

2022 Commonwealth Games

Australia's squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington

See all the Commonwealth Games cricket squads here

Group A: Australia, India, Pakistan, Barbados

Group B: England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka

July 29: Australia v India (11am local, 8pm AEST)

July 31: Australia v Barbados (6pm local, 3am Aug 1 AEST)

August 3: Australia v Pakistan (11am local, 8pm AEST)

Semi-finals: August 6, 11am local (8pm AEST) and 6pm local (3am Aug 7 AEST)

Bronze medal match: August 7, 10am local (7pm AEST)

Gold medal match: August 7, 5pm local (2am Aug 8 AEST)

All matches played at Edgbaston Stadium