Pace to provide energy injection in ODI opener

Megan Schutt is ready to inject fresh energy into Australia’s pace attack, as the tour of India enters the three-game ODI leg at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.

Schutt was not in contention for selection for the one-off Test and only landed in Mumbai on the eve of the game but the veteran right-armer is now set to play a key role in the six upcoming white-ball matches.

Darcie Brown is another fresh pace option after also missing out on the red-ball fixture, as the Aussies mull their best XI for Thursday’s opening game.

The group had a two-day break following the final day of the Test, before training under lights on Wednesday night.

Brown missed Australia’s most recent ODI series against West Indies with a hamstring injury and if she does make the XI, it is likely Kim Garth will be the one to make way.

The make-up of the spin attack is another consideration, after left-armer Jess Jonassen was omitted in place of wrist spinner Alana King for the final two one-dayers against the Windies.

"I’m forward to seeing Darce out there hopefully and obviously Schutter is a bundle of energy," Australia batter Beth Mooney told reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday evening.

"No matter what tour we’re on or what time of the year it is, she always brings a great vibe to the group just like Darce so it'd be really exciting to see those girls out there tomorrow. 

"But as we know with this Australian team, and we saw in the Test match, there's heavy competition for spots at the moment, so I'm sure there'll be lots of people putting their hand up today training."

Mooney meanwhile will return to her usual role in the middle-order of Australia’s ODI XI, after opening the batting alongside Phoebe Litchfield in the Test match.

It is a position the left-hander has made her own in recent years, and she spent a prolonged period in the nets at Wankhede on Wednesday evening facing throwdowns from coach Shelley Nitschke.

"Alyssa Healy and Phoebe Litchfield look like a bit of a lock at the top of the order, which is great," Mooney said. 

"They've done an awesome job for us … I think it's good having a left-right combination up there.

"I've been really lucky in the last five or six years to get given an opportunity in the middle-order in ODI cricket and I’ve played some of my best cricket in that role. 

"So, I'm really looking forward to being in that role and helping some other people around me.

"Hopefully those girls that are up top can do their job, and I get to come in and have some fun and come home with a wet sail."

Australia have not played an ODI series in India since 2018, while the only previous occasion they have played one-day cricket at the Wankhede was in 2012.

Jess Jonassen and Ellyse Perry are the only members of Australia’s current squad to have featured in those games, and Mooney said the team had tapped into a group with much more recent experience for some ODI intel on the venue.

"We've taken a little bit of insight from the Australian men's team that were over here recently playing the ODI World Cup – getting some insights from them has been really helpful," Mooney said. 

"For us, it's just about adapting as quickly as we can.

"I think the death bowling and the death batting stuff is going to be really important, making sure we nail that.

"Hopefully we can fine tune a few things in this series and in the next six months before that T20 World Cup in Bangladesh and then obviously that one-day World Cup (in India) the following year."

Australia's CommBank Tour of India

December 21-24: Test match, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

December 28: First ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

December 30: Second ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

January 2: Third ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

January 5: First T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

January 7: Second T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

January 9: Third T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Lauren Cheatle (Test only), Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris (T20s only), Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

India Test squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Shubha Satheesh, Harleen Deol, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar