Beams reunites with Aussie mates for U19 tri-series

Australia Under-19 coach Kristen Beams has reunited with two familiar faces in Queensland this week as the country’s best young players continue their preparations for next year’s ICC U19 T20 World Cup in Malaysia.

The Australia U19 squad will play Sri Lanka and New Zealand in a T20 and one-day tri-series across the next 14 days, starting on Thursday afternoon with a 20-over showdown against the NZ Development side at Alan Pettigrew Oval.

Beams, who took on the role of CA national development lead 12 months ago, will be assisted by former Aussie teammate Delissa Kimmince, while ex-Australia head coach Matthew Mott has joined his old charges as a coaching mentor.

"It's so nice to have somebody that you had such great memories with as a player, to now be able to coach together and talk about the changes within the game … and she brings so much energy to a group, that's really valuable," Beams told cricket.com.au.

"I had such a great relationship with Motty as a player, so to have him come in and really play that role to guide and to mentor and give feedback is really important, not just for myself, but the whole coaching group to make sure that we're not only developing our players, but we're developing our staff.

"It's incredible to have someone so experienced and someone that you really trust … it’s going to be something that we all look back at the end of the series and think we were pretty bloody lucky to have Matthew Mott in and around this group for two-and-a-half weeks."

Mott’s mentoring role aside, the Australia U19s will boast an entirely female crew of support staff for the tri-series, across coaching, operations and SSSM.

"It's really cool, it was not by design, but I had to say to Motty when we jumped on a call before this tour, I said, 'Sorry, you're actually the token bloke on this trip'," Beams laughed.

"I think it speaks volumes to the quality of women that we've got around the country in all facets, whether that's SSSM, operations or coaching."

The second-ever Women's U19 World Cup will be held in Malaysia in January, and Australia will be eager to win their first title after being knocked out in the semi-finals of the inaugural event in 2023.

A solid year of preparation will boost those hopes. This is the second tri-series Australia's U19s have been part of this year, after they travelled to Sri Lanka in April to play the hosts and England, while CA and Beams also held a camp for 21 potential World Cup players in Brisbane in July.

"My first stint in this role was the Lanning-Perry series last September, and quite a few of those girls are getting an opportunity on this tour as well," Beams said.

"It feels like it's been building really nicely, where we're getting the girls connected and exposed to different environments and some really good match play.

"We're getting to look at the real depth of talent, which is exciting."

Beams said injuries to several players had necessitated changes to the group who travelled to Sri Lanka in April, offering opportunities to several newcomers including Caoimhe Bray, a 14-year-old multi-sport athlete who also debuted for the Junior Matildas earlier this year, and wicketkeepers Elizabeth Worthley and Hayley Zauch. 

Scorchers and WA quick Chloe Ainsworth, who made a splash at senior level last domestic season, is not part of the current squad but will be eligible for World Cup selection having turned 19 on September 14, two weeks after the September 1 cut-off date.

"With the amount of domestic cricket coming up, she's going to play such a leading role for both WA and the Scorchers, she's one where we're managing ... she's going to have great preparation through senior domestic cricket," Beams said of Ainsworth.

"Caoimhe’s a really exciting player out of NSW and has done really well in both the Under-19 and Under-16 National Championships, it's always great to have young players really pushing their case early on within this group."

Alongside the new faces, there is plenty of senior playing experience in the Australia squad, which includes a number of players who hold state or WBBL contracts.

There are also three players who were part of that 2023 U19 World Cup in South Africa – Maggie Clark, Lucy Hamilton and Eleanor Larosa.

A total of six squad members have played in the WNCL or WBBL, including left-arm quick Hamilton who has several years' experience with Queensland and the Brisbane Heat.

"It’s another really exciting thing about Aussie U19s women's cricket that we've got some players who are getting exposed to senior environments as well as our environment," Beams said.

All members of Australia’s squad are also eligible for World Cup selection, while New Zealand have taken a slightly different approach, naming a ‘development team’ that includes several up-and-coming players form outside the age cut-off.

"We wanted to be really flexible around what the opposition looked like for us … it sits really comfortably with us that they would have a couple of players that are a little bit older," Beams continued.

"When we're working through cricket at this level, it's about every country getting what they need, every country is in a really different position."

The ICC revealed the schedule for the U19 World Cup tournament last month, with Australia placed in Group D alongside Bangladesh, Scotland and a yet-to-be-determined Asian qualifier.

All their group games will be played at UKM YSD Oval on the southern outskirts of Kuala Lumpur starting from January 18, with the super six stage and finals to follow. 

Women's Under-19 Tri-Series  

T20 Tri-Series 

Australia U19 T20 squad: Lily Bassingthwaite, Bonnie Berry, Caoimhe Bray, Ella Briscoe, Maggie Clark, Samara Dulvin, Lucy Finn, Hasrat Gill, Lucy Hamilton, Amy Hunter, Eleanor Larosa, Ines McKeon, Ribhya Syan, Tegan Williamson, Elizabeth Worthley, Hayley Zauch  

September 19: Australia v New Zealand, Alan Pettigrew Oval, 1.30pm  

September 20: New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Alan Pettigrew Oval, 1.30pm 

September 22: Australia v Sri Lanka, Ian Healy Oval, 6pm 

September 24: Australia v New Zealand, Bill Pippen Oval, 1.30pm 

September 25: Australia v Sri Lanka, Bill Pippen Oval, 1.30pm 

September 26: New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Bill Pippen Oval, 1.30pm 

50-over Tri-Series  

Australia U19 one-day squad: Lily Bassingthwaite, Bonnie Berry, Caoimhe Bray, Ella Briscoe, Maggie Clark, Samara Dulvin, Lucy Finn, Hasrat Gill, Amy Hunter, Eleanor Larosa, Ines McKeon, Juliette Morton, Ribhya Syan, Tegan Williamson, Elizabeth Worthley, Hayley Zauch  

September 30: Australia v Sri Lanka, Alan Pettigrew Oval, 9.30am   

October 1: New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Alan Pettigrew Oval, 9.30am  

October 2: Australia v New Zealand, Ian Healy Oval, 2.30pm  

New Zealand Development Squad: Elizabeth Buchanan, Kate Chandler, Sophie Court, Abigail Hotton, Kate Irwin, Rishika Jaswal, Louisa Kotkamp, Emma McLeod, Darcy-Rose Prasad, Izzy Sharp, Anika Todd, Abby Treder, Tash Wakelin, Hannah Wallace, Eve Wolland

Sri Lanka U19 squad: Manudi Nanayakkara (c), Rashmika Sewwandi (vc), Sumudu Nisansala, Sanjana Kavindi, Vimoksha Balasuriya, Rashmi Nethranjali, Erandi Hansamali, Pramudi Methsara, Hiruni Hansika, Chamodi Praboda, Dahami Sanethma, Asheni Thalagune, Shehara Induwari, Danuli Thennekoon, Nethagi Isuranjali, Limansa Thilakarathne