Australia may take a cautious approach with new captain Sophie Molineux during the upcoming tour of the West Indies, with the possibility that she features as a batter only as the team manages her workload ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year.
Molineux led the side in the three-match T20I series against India last month before Alyssa Healy returned for the ODI and Test matches. Following Healy’s retirement at the end of that home multi-format series, the 28-year-old has now officially assumed the captaincy.
She is expected to be available for all three T20Is in St Vincent after recovering from a lower-back injury. However, her participation in the subsequent three ODIs in St Kitts will be reassessed as the tour progresses.
Australia have kept open the option of using Molineux solely as a batter during the series, given her injury history and the limited time remaining before the global tournament.
“It’s probably a see how we go,” Molineux said. “Especially towards the back end with the one-dayers. We’ll just keep assessing. I am looking forward to being back out there with the girls.
“It was hard to watch that Test, especially not being part of Midge [Healy]’s last game for Australia. It will be great to get back out there again.”
A decision not to bowl would represent a notable shift for Molineux, who made her international debut in 2018 as a spin-bowling all-rounder and has delivered with the ball in every match she has played for Australia.
Nevertheless, her presence remains vital for the group, with this tour marking the first time the squad will be under her leadership following Healy’s departure from international cricket.
“It’s an important series for all of us,” Molineux said. “We haven’t got a whole lot of games before that T20 World Cup. Each game we have together is really important and make sure we are building towards that.
“To be able to get my feet under the desk and lead the group, I am really looking forward to the opportunity.”
If Molineux does not feature in the ODI leg, Tahlia McGrath and fellow vice-captain Ashleigh Gardner remain part of the squad options.
Australia are also set to play warm-up fixtures against South Africa before heading to the T20 World Cup in England, which the team views as an important phase of preparation.
For the first time in nearly a decade, Australia do not currently hold either the T20 or ODI World Cup title, after semifinal exits in both of the most recent tournaments. They were also beaten 2-1 at home by India in last month’s T20I series, though the squad believes the gap is not significant.
“It’s very hard in T20 cricket to play the perfect game,” Molineux said. “It’s just being better for longer and realising those moments that can go either way and winning those. It’s just backing our [attacking] style of play and being conscious of that.”
Australia’s opponents, West Indies, enter the series following a challenging outing against Sri Lanka, where they lost the series 2-0 and were bowled out for 49 in the rain-affected opening match that ended without a result. In the two completed fixtures, they posted totals of 101 and 119 for 5. Captain Hayley Matthews expressed hope that conditions in St Vincent would better suit their batting.
“I think it’s going to be a good test of where we are as a team right now just a couple months before the World Cup does start,” she said.
“They’re quite a challenging team and the highest ranked in the world, but teams have had success against them. The good thing about T20 cricket is that it only takes one or two matchwinners to really go there and change a game.
“So it’s going to be really important for us that our big players do step up, that’s going to be key to us having a successful campaign, but we certainly have the players within the group to do so.”
