Mooney set for next iconic partner as Voll proves T20 chops

Georgia Voll has strengthened her case to be Alyssa Healy's eventual long-term replacement at the top of the Australian order after seizing another chance to stamp her authority at international level.

In the lead-up to Friday's first T20I at Eden Park, Australia coach Shelley Nitschke had highlighted the need for Australia to use the late-season New Zealand tour to define their approach to the shortest format, given the scarcity of T20 internationals in the 16 months leading up to next year's World Cup in England.

Voll, in tandem with opening partner Beth Mooney, did exactly that on Friday, piling on 123 in 10.5 overs in their pursuit of 138 before the younger of the pair was dismissed for 50.

Following this tour, Australia will not play another T20I in 2025, and have just six pencilled into the calendar in early 2026 before the ICC tournament in England.

Sixteen months is a long time in cricket, but already some pieces appear to be falling into place.

As it stands, Healy – absent from this tour with a foot injury – has publicly declared her intention to play at this year's ODI World Cup in India in October and in next year's home multi-format series against India in February and March, but she has kept her thoughts around what her future looks like beyond that point under her hat.

Should the Australian captain choose to hang up the boots at that point and not carry on to Australia's T20 World Cup campaign in England, it appears increasingly likely it would be Voll who partners Mooney at that tournament.

"She was amazing," Mooney said of Voll following Friday's game.

"She just came out all guns blazing and absolutely smacked them out of the middle of her bat. 

"She's not afraid to take the game on, she's got that fearless nature about her. 

"She's had such a great year, so it's really nice to see her reap the rewards of that and come out like she did today and get her first T20 international fifty, which I'm sure will be the first of many."

Having expressed her disappointment with her first T20I series during the Ashes in January, when she hit 21, 5 and 23 filling in for Healy, Voll was quick to put New Zealand under pressure at Eden Park, hitting nine boundaries in her 31-ball 50.

In just eight international games, the 21-year-old has already scored an international century and a fifty – but most impressive has been how unflappable she appears when playing on the biggest stage.

"It's amazing, isn't it? We've just got this production line of young players ready to step up and perform in this team and they look like they've been here for years," Mooney continued. 

"It's hard to believe Volley's in her first 10 games playing for Australia, when it looks like she's been doing it for probably as long as I have, although I've got a few more warm-ups behind me. 

"That's just the benefit of what Cricket Australia have done and the ACA in making sure that our domestic programs are high performance as they can be."

Mooney also reflected on her own memorable milestone day at Eden Park, where she celebrated her 200th international appearance with an unbeaten innings of 75 from 42 balls.

Her innings, which featured 10 fours and a six, has moved her within 116 runs of overtaking Meg Lanning as Australia's all-time leading run scorer in the shortest format.

"(It's) really cool. Eden Park's a pretty iconic venue in New Zealand, so first and foremost to do it here was pretty special, and I had a few close family and friends in the crowd so that was nice as well," Mooney said. 

"To play the way we did was probably the icing on the cake, for sure."

CommBank T20I tour of New Zealand

Australia T20 squad: Tahlia McGrath (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicole Faltum, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

New Zealand T20 squad: Suzie Bates (c), Eden Carson, Sophie Devine, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Polly Inglis, Bella James, Fran Jonas, Jess Kerr, Melie Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Georgia Plimmer, Lea Tahuhu

First T20 | Australia win by eight wickets

Second T20 | March 23: Bay Oval, Tauranga

Third T20 | March 26: Sky Stadium, Wellington

All games start at 12.45pm AEDT, 2.45pm NZDT and will be broadcast live on Foxtel and Kayo Sports