Published: Jan 13, 2016, 04:55 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 13, 2016, 05:23 PM (IST)
Australia have announced their ODI and T20I squad for Australia Women vs India Women limited-overs series starting January 26, 2016. There are some new faces in the team which include Lauren Cheatle and Naomi Stalenberg. Both teams will play three T20Is followed by three 50-over matches. 17-year-old Cheatle is a left-arm pace bowler and many people consider her bowling to have parallels with star Australian woman cricketer Ellyse Perry. She played in Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) 2015 and bagged the honour of being the youngest to represent New South Wales (NSW). She was the third highest wicket-taker of the tournament.
Talking of Stalenberg, she is a 21-year-old middle-order batswoman. She is considered an aggressive batter and scored runs at a strike rate of over 150 in Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). Chairperson of women’s selection panel Shawn Fleger was quoted by Wisden India saying, “We believe we have selected a strong group for this exciting competition against India. The T20 squad has been selected with an eye to the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in March and includes two new faces. Cheatle is a 17-year-old left-arm quick who can swing the ball into right-handers and has shown great composure in her second and third spells during the WNCL. Naomi Stalenberg has been a real standout with her aggressive middle-order batting, displaying great power and a healthy strike-rate,”
Meanwhile, Australia Women captain Meg Lanning said she is happy to see Australia having great women cricketers in its ranks, “It shows that there is a lot of depth in Australian cricket. They [Lauren Cheatle and Naomi Stalenberg] are exciting players, so we are looking forward to them joining the group.”
ODI squad: Meg Lanning (c), Alex Blackwell (vc), Kristen Beams, Nicole Bolton, Sarah Coyte, Rene Farrell, Holly Ferling, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt
T20I squad: Meg Lanning (c), Alex Blackwell (vc), Sarah Coyte, Rene Farrell, Holly Ferling, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Lauren Cheatle, Naomi Stalenberg
