Australia seal warm-up win over England amid injury concerns

29 Sep 2024 Laura Jolly, at the ICC Academy, Dubai

Match Report

29 Sep 2024 Laura Jolly, at the ICC Academy, Dubai

Tahlia McGrath starred with bat and ball as Australia got the better of England in their first T20 World Cup warm-up

Australia have launched their T20 World Cup campaign with a comfortable 33-run warm-up win over England, but an injury cloud hangs over two middle-order stars less than a week out from the start of the tournament proper.

Beth Mooney (50 from 30) and Tahlia McGrath (31 from 22) were the main contributors as Australia posted 6-162 after being sent in by England skipper Heather Knight at the ICC Academy in Dubai.

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McGrath then made the most of a rare opportunity with the ball, picking up 3-18 from three overs as England were bowled out for 129 in 19.4 overs.

"They're a really good opponent in England and it's a perfect way to start off our campaign in that respect," McGrath said after the game.

"But we focused on ourselves tonight and how we wanted to approach these conditions, what brand of cricket we wanted to play and go out there and play really attacking cricket ... I thought we did that really well."

Australia were missing both Phoebe Litchfield and Grace Harris, with the duo ruled out of both Sunday’s game and Tuesday’s second warm-up against West Indies, while they are no certainties to be fit for the tournament opener against Sri Lanka on October 5.

Harris, who also missed all three T20Is against New Zealand, is continuing to rehabilitate a low-grade strain to her right calf but has resumed training and faced throw downs in the nets during Sunday’s game.

Litchfield reported groin soreness following Saturday’s training session.

The pair will be assessed in the coming days with updates on their availability for the opening game to come.

McGrath impressed with the bat // Getty

But there were plenty of positive signs from their teammates.

Mooney was the pick of the batters, hitting a 29-ball half-century and feasting on the bowling of spinners Sophie Ecclestone and Sarah Glenn as she struck seven boundaries.

McGrath meanwhile shrugged off a trio of single-digit scores against New Zealand as she hit a quartet of fours and took the chance to try out the ramp shot she is hoping to add to her repertoire.

Georgia Wareham, sent out at No.7 in the absence of Harris and Litchfield, produced a 15-ball 18 to finish the innings.

Charlie Dean (1-16 from four overs) was the standout with the ball for England.

"Where I'm batting, I can come in at lots of different situations so for me, it's assessing the situation as quick as possible, and whatever's best for the team from there," McGrath said.

"It was nice to spend a little bit of time out in the middle today and try a few things that I've been working on ... I've been trying to add the ramp to my game for a very long time, so to get one out there today, I was stoked."

Australia then looked to give overs to bowlers who had fewer opportunities against New Zealand, opting against bowling Megan Schutt and Tayla Vlaeminck, while Ashleigh Gardner and Annabel Sutherland sent down 3.4 overs between them.

Australia bowled England out for 129 // Getty

Kim Garth (0-26 from three overs) took the new ball alongside Darcie Brown (1-18 from three) in her return from a knee injury.

McGrath, who last bowled in a T20I in January, secured the key wicket of Natalie Sciver-Brunt (12 off 21) and bagged another two late wickets in her 3-18.

Sophie Molineux (2-27 from four) continued to impress, bowling opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge before stopping first drop Alice Capsey (40 from 34) as she was starting to look threatening, and Georgia Wareham (1-12 from three) applied plenty of pressure through the middle overs and claimed the key wicket of Knight for five.

A late cameo from Freya Kemp (19 off 14), who struck two enormous sixes off Gardner in the 19th over, reduced the margin for England.

"It was really good to get out here in very unfamiliar conditions to us, have a hit out, have a look at the conditions and really work as a team to communicate what works over here and what doesn't, and get some overs into a few that haven't had a lot of overs leading into this as well," McGrath said.

"I haven't bowled much in international cricket for a while, so there's always a few nerves there when you take the ball and (I was just trying to) be really clear on my plans and execute as much as possible."

Australia will play a second and final warm-up against West Indies on Tuesday, while England will meet New Zealand.

West Indies started their campaign with a 20-run warm-up defeat to India on Sunday, while New Zealand finally returned to the winners’ list with a romping eight-wicket win over South Africa.

2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Australia seal warm-up win over England amid injury concerns

2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Warm-up matches

Australia's Group A fixtures

Finals