Kimmince embracing one-day recall

Allrounder Delissa Kimmince is embracing the latest step in what’s been a remarkable comeback tale as she prepares to fly to Malaysia with her Australian teammates.

Kimmince was last week included in Australia’s one-day international squad to meet Pakistan in three matches beginning Thursday and should she play, it would be her first ODI appearance since 2014 and just her 12th in the decade since she made her international debut in early 2008.

For the 29-year-old, who has impressed this year in Australia’s T20I side in what’s been her third stint as an international cricketer, it’s been an unexpected chance she’s eager to make the most of.

“It’s pretty exciting, when I was contracted for this year I thought they’d be looking at me more for the T20 side of things,” Kimmince told cricket.com.au.

“From the time I started playing for Australia 10 years ago to now, I’ve only played 11 one-dayers.

“So if I get the opportunity to play, I’ll try and grab it with both hands.

“There’s a really good feeling within the group at the moment.”

Kimmince returned to the 20-over team last November during the Ashes and has since consolidated her place in that squad, with her crafty variations on her medium pace to play a key role in Australia’s World T20 plans.

It’s a situation the Queenslander had never expected; as she revealed to cricket.com.au earlier this year, she’d been resigned to her days in the green and gold being over prior to that surprise Ashes call up.

"Playing for Australia again wasn't on my list of things to do," Kimmince revealed exclusively to cricket.com.au at the time.

"I thought my time in the green and gold had been and gone. I was preparing for life after cricket, not knowing how long I had left, so I started the house cleaning business to work in and around the semi-professional nature of our state contracts.

"My main focus was just to enjoy my cricket playing for Queensland and the Heat. I never thought I'd be wearing the green and gold again."

A hallmark of Kimmince 3.0 is her relaxed approach to the game.

Learning to set aside the unrealistic expectations she’d placed on herself early in her career – which had caused the love/hate relationship that saw her walk away from the game for several years aged 19 – while retaining her innate competitive edge has seen the Queenslander mature into the player she is today.

Her composure and calmness under pressure has been praised by Australia head coach Matthew Mott as one of her greatest attributes, particularly in a T20 game where the world’s top batters are coming harder at bowlers then ever before.

“I think if you saw me 10 years ago, you wouldn’t have said (I was relaxed),” Kimmince said.

“But that’s the way I try and go about my cricket now, I try to enjoy it more.

“I find I have more success if I am in that relaxed headspace, and at the end of the day if things haven’t gone my way, I can still enjoy it.”

Now, Kimmince is bound for her first tours of Malaysia and the West Indies, where Australia’s World T20 campaign will begin in the South American nation of Guyana on November 9.

“I don’t know what to expect,” Kimmince said of the upcoming destinations.

“It should be pretty fun, the beauty of our game at the moment is we get to travel to different parts of the world.”

CommBank Tour of Malaysia

Australia ODI squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

Australia T20 & World T20 squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen (subject to fitness), Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

Pakistan ODI/T20 squad: Javeria Khan (c), Bibi Nahida, Ayesha Zafar, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Sidra Amin, Omaima Sohail, Nida Rashid, Sidra Nawaz, Sana Mir, Nashra Sundhu, Anum Amin, Natalia Parvaiz, Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Aiman Anwar

October 18: First ODI v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur

October 20: Second ODI v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

October 22: Third ODI v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

October 25: First T20I v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

October 27: Second T20I v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

October 29: Third T20I v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

2018 ICC Women's World T20  

November 9: Australia v Pakistan, Province Stadium, Guyana

November 11: Australia v Ireland, Province Stadium

November 13: Australia v New Zealand, Province Stadium

November 17: Australia v India, Province Stadium

November 22: Semi-finals, Sir Vivian Richards Ground, Antigua

November 24: Final, Sir Vivian Richards Ground