Trenaman stars in 'A' return as Aussie batters control day one

Tasmanian batter Rachel Trenaman has capped a comeback season by top scoring for Australia A on the opening day of their red-ball clash with England A in Sydney.

In her first representative match since a trio of serious knee injuries, and first red-ball game since the 'A' tour of England in 2019, Trenaman cracked 77 from 131 balls to lead the hosts' 7-315 at stumps of day one at Cricket Central.

Alongside skipper Charli Knott (52), Trenaman resurrected the Aussie innings from a precarious 3-50 after English speedster Issy Wong and seamer Eva Gray made early inroads.

Knott may have briefly been questioning her decision to bat first in the four-day fixture after Gray (1-56) and Wong (4-57 from 21 overs) struck in consecutive overs to leave Australia A 2-17 with both openers back in the sheds.

Gray had in-form NSW batter Tahlia Wilson (11) edging to first slip before Wong, who was the pick of the English bowlers with four day one wickets, broke through Maddy Darke's defences and rattled the stumps.

No.4 Anika Learoyd (16) got the innings going with Trenaman before she became Wong's second victim as her cut shot attempt ended up in the hands of Alice Capsey at second slip.

Trenaman and Knott built steadily before upping the ante with each hitting a pair of boundaries in consecutive overs from Georgia Davis (1-52) and Gray respectively.

Knott hit 10 fours in her 74-ball stay before Wong returned to break the 87-run fourth wicket stand when the Queenslander picked out midwicket. Trenaman hit 12 fours in her innings-high knock before falling to Alice Capsey (1-19) with the score 5-189.

Aussie wicketkeeper Nicole Faltum carried on the pair's momentum, also scoring 52 with eight boundaries, while fellow Victorian Tess Flintoff also chipped in with 33 as the hosts were able to form solid partnerships for the rest of the day after their early troubles.

Wong struck for a fourth time when she bowled Flintoff as stumps neared, but Queensland's Sianna Ginger (41no) and Maitlan Brown (19no) safely negotiated the 15 overs remaining until stumps without further loss and will resume on Sunday morning looking to add to their unbroken 40-run eighth wicket stand.

The four-day match is the final game of England A's multi-format tour, with the Aussies winning the preceding one-day leg 2-1 and the visitors the rain-affected series-opening T20 leg 1-0.

Australia A v England A

First T20 | England A won by three wickets

Second T20 | No result

Third T20 | Match abandoned without a ball bowled

First OD| Australia A won by five wickets

Second OD| Australia A won by 125 runs

Third OD| England A won by one wicket

Four-day game | April 12-15: Cricket Central, Sydney, 9.30am AEST

Australia A T20 squad: Heather Graham (c), Charli Knott (vc), Lauren Cheatle, Hannah Darlington, Sophie Day, Amy Edgar, Tess Flintoff, Sianna Ginger, Anika Learoyd, Rhys McKenna, Madeline Penna, Amy Smith, Courtney Webb, Tahlia Wilson (wk)

Australia A 50-over squad: Nicole Faltum (c/wk), Charli Knott (vc), Lauren Cheatle, Hannah Darlington, Sophie Day, Tess Flintoff, Sianna Ginger, Nicola Hancock, Ella Hayward, Anika Learoyd, Amy Smith, Georgia Voll, Courtney Webb, Tahlia Wilson

Australia A Four-Day squad: Charli Knott (c), Nicole Faltum (vc/wk), Maitlan Brown, Lauren Cheatle, Maddy Darke, Sophie Day, Tess Flintoff, Sianna Ginger, Nicola Hancock, Ella Hayward, Anika Learoyd, Lilly Mills, Rachel Trenaman, Tahlia Wilson

England A T20 squad: Hollie Armitage, Georgia Davis, Mahika Gaur, Jodi Grewcock, Bess Heath, Emma Jones, Freya Kemp, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Charis Pavely, Grace Potts, Paige Scholfield, Grace Scrivens, Seren Smale, Bryony Smith, Alexa Stonehouse, Mady Villiers, Issy Wong

England A 50-over squad: Hollie Armitage, Alice Capsey, Georgia Davis, Mahika Gaur, Kirstie Gordon, Jodi Grewcock, Bess Heath, Emma Jones, Freya Kemp, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Charis Pavely, Grace Potts, Paige Scholfield, Grace Scrivens, Seren Smale, Bryony Smith, Alexa Stonehouse, Mady Villiers, Issy Wong

England A four-day squad: Hollie Armitage, Alice Capsey, Georgia Davis, Kirstie Gordon, Eva Gray, Jodi Grewcock, Bess Heath, Freya Kemp, Charis Pavely, Grace Potts, Paige Scholfield, Grace Scrivens, Seren Smale, Alexa Stonehouse, Mady Villiers, Issy Wong