Image Credit- Getty
Despite injury concerns, Australia’s roster for the
upcoming multi-format trip of India includes Alyssa Healy and Darcie Brown.
Left-arm seamer Lauren Cheatle has been recalled for the Test match, however
the captaincy of Meg Lanning has not yet been decided.
Just five days after Lanning’s unexpected retirement
from international cricket, the 16-player team was unveiled, capping nearly ten
years of her leadership during a golden age of Australian women’s cricket.
The Australian management has started the process of
finding a full-time successor for Lanning; further details will be released
closer to the trip. Australia’s first Test match in India since 1984 will begin
on December 21 in Mumbai, ahead of a three-match ODI and Twenty20 International
series.
Healy only participated in one WBBL game this season
before having surgery on her finger following an unintentional dog bite.
“Alyssa Healy’s finger is healing but remains in
a splint and our medical team are continuing to monitor her recovery
closely,” national selector Shawn Flegler said. “We’re obviously very
hopeful she will be available for the Test, but those decisions are still a
while away.”
After getting hurt in the first ODI in Brisbane on
October 8 against the West Indies, Brown has been sidelined. The Adelaide
Strikers, the reigning WBBL champions, have been without her, but she has
resumed bowling and is expected to be healthy for the opening Test.
Returned left-arm quick Cheatle, who hasn’t played for
Australia since March 2019, may share new-ball responsibilities with Brown.
Cheatle, who debuted internationally in 2016 at the age of seventeen, has a
terrible history of injuries, requiring four shoulder reconstructions in a span
of five years.
Australia squad: Darcie Brown, Lauren Cheatle (Test
only), Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris (T20), Alyssa
Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Beth
Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham