Tahlia McGrath and Amanda-Jade Wellington will today be named in the Cricket Australia XI side to tour India
SA SCORPIONS all-rounders Tahlia McGrath and Amanda-Jade Wellington will today be named in the Cricket Australia XI team to tour India for a six-match series against India A starting next week.
SA SCORPIONS all-rounders Tahlia McGrath and Amanda-Jade Wellington will today be named in the Cricket Australia XI team to tour India for a six-match series against India A starting next week.
For McGrath — who has been in and out of national selection since 2016, but remains without a Cricket Australia contract — it is particularly satisfying to be back in Australian colours after spending the past year recovering from a back injury.
“It’s been a pretty rough 12 months, but the last couple of months have been really good, pain-free bowling and hopefully most of that is behind me now and I can move forward,” the medium-fast bowler said.
“I’ve had rehab, time off bowling and have been monitoring my bowling load a lot so that the injury hasn’t come back. I’m feeling really good and super excited.
“I’ve never been to India before … I’m looking forward to challenging myself in tough conditions over there and to come away a better cricketer.”
Legspinner Wellington, 21, is in her second year of a Cricket Australia contract, but McGrath — who has played four ODIs and a Test match for the Australian team — is hoping to snag herself a contract too.
“Any chance you get to wear an Australian shirt is an exciting time and I’ll grab it with both hands and hopefully I can push my case for higher honours,” McGrath, 22, said.
The Scorpion teammates — who have been playing alongside each other since their under-12s days — will leave for India on Friday for the two-week tour, where they will play three T20 and three 50-over matches against India A.
McGrath said there were a number of Indian players with previous international experience, which would provide a good test for the CA XI.
“They have a fair bit of experience … but we have a good squad too and it should be a good contest and we’re hoping for some close and exciting games,” she said.
Now in her seventh season for the Scorpions, McGrath is going into the India tour with a sense of batting confidence after knocking up her maiden state century in the opening game of the WNCL season against Victoria last month.
“I’ve been playing for the Scorps for quite a while now and it’s always been in the back of my mind that I haven’t got that ton, so it’s a bit of a relief,” she said.
Meanwhile, Scorpions’ captain Megan Schutt has won a spot in the 15-player Australian Women’s Cricket squad who will represent Australia at next month’s ICC Women’s World Twenty20 in the West Indies.
The squad leaves for Malaysia next week where it will play against Pakistan, before heading on to the Caribbean. The Women’s World T20 runs from November 9-24.
Following Tuesday’s announcement, national selector Shawn Flegler said: “This is an exciting group of players who’ve played some very good cricket in the T20 format in particular, over the last six months, and with injection of some youth we believe this group has the right attributes to have a successful World Cup.”