India awaits as Aussies head for new territory

Australia will meet India and Ireland in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, as the defending champions look to rapidly adjust to unfamiliar conditions in South Africa.

The Aussies' final T20I on home soil before their departure for Cape Town was abandoned without a ball bowled on Sunday, as persistent rain fell on Canberra.

The 15-player Australian World Cup squad fly out on Tuesday evening and will have a couple of training sessions to settle in before their first official warm-up match against India at Newlands on February 6.

They will then meet Ireland at Stellenbosch University on February 8, before their opening game of the World Cup against New Zealand in Paarl on February 11.

Speaking after the washout against Pakistan, Australia captain Meg Lanning said she was not fazed by the missed opportunity, but the upcoming warm-up games and training sessions in South Africa would be critical.

"I don't think it's too big of an issue to be honest, we're closer to the end of the season then we are to the start," Lanning said on Sunday.

"We've had plenty of match practice, and everybody's played enough cricket to feel in a good spot, so I don't think it'll impact us at all, really.

"(The team is) nicely placed, I feel like we've been able to work on some different roles for different players, and where that might fit within the side and we've got some really good options and depth in a lot of areas."

The showdown against a fellow title contender India will be the perfect test for Australia, and will give them a chance to assess the conditions at Newlands, where they do not play during the group stage but which will host both semi-finals and the final.

Meanwhile the Ireland game will see allrounder Kim Garth come up against her former team for the first time since her move to Australia in 2020.

Garth, who debuted for Ireland aged 14 in 2010, qualified to represent Australia last September and made her debut in the green and gold against India in December.

"(The warm-ups will) be really important and some training sessions as well, just adjusting to the conditions and what the wickets are doing because a lot of us haven't actually played over there before," Lanning said.

"So that is something that we've done really well over the past few years in particular, adjusting really quickly to the conditions and what's required."

Garth is only of only a handful of the Australian squad to have previously played in South Africa, having toured there with Ireland, while Georgia Wareham and Annabel Sutherland travelled there on an Under-19s tour in 2018.

Lanning said the Australian brains trust would tap into the knowledge of those with more experience in the foreign conditions, including the Under-19 World Cup squad whose dreams of taking out the inaugural title ended in a heartbreaking semi-final defeat on Friday.

"The under-19s are probably a good resource for us just in terms of the conditions, so we'll certainly do all the research we can to get as much information that we can, but at the end of the day, it's about adjusting and making sure that we're doing that really quickly," she said.

Australia will meet the White Ferns, hosts South Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka during the group stage.

New Zealand have already arrived in South Africa, where they are preparing with a series of unofficial practice matches against England in Pretoria.

2023 ICC Women's T20 World Cup warm-up matches

*All times local

Feb 6: New Zealand v West Indies, Western Province Cricket Club, 10am

Feb 6: Sri Lanka v Ireland, Stellenbosch University, 10am

Feb 6: South Africa v England, Stellenbosch University, 2.30pm

Feb 6: Australia v India, Newlands Cricket Ground, 2.30pm

Feb 6: Pakistan v Bangladesh, Western Province Cricket Club, 2.30pm

Feb 8: Ireland v Australia, Stellenbosch University, 10am

Feb 8: England v New Zealand, Western Province Cricket Club, 10am

Feb 8: Pakistan v South Arica, Boland Park, Paarl, 2.30pm

Feb 8: West Indies v Sri Lanka, Western Province Cricket Club, 2.30pm

Feb 8: Bangladesh v India, Stellenbosch University, 2.30pm

CommBank T20I Series

Tuesday Jan 24: Australia won by eight wickets

Thursday Jan 26: Australia won by eight wickets

Sunday Jan 29: Match abandoned due to rain

Australia T20I squad: Meg Lanning (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

Pakistan T20I squad: Bismah Maroof (c), Aiman Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Fatima Sana, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz, Tuba Hassan