Australia will take on India without the two top-ranked ODI bowlers in the world as border closures hit the schedule

Australia is supposed to return to the field against India next month but Covid has put everyone in the alert position.

Meg Lanning will lead Australia against India. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images for Cricket Australia

The 18 Australian players selected for a multi-format series against India are on standby to move “any time”.

They are hoping a training camp can be organised, with border closures set to have a huge impact on where matches will be played.

Players and coaching staff are scattered all over Australia, and captain Meg Lanning, who is in Victoria, conceded preparation wouldn’t be anything close to normal.

Even the series-opening one-day game, set for Sydney on September 19, is almost certain to be moved after NSW recorded a massive 633 new Covid cases on Wednesday.

Cricket Australia is working with all state governments to try to organise the best travel arrangements, with the one-off Test slated for Perth – where vaccinations are now mandatory for entry for people from NSW – and then the final three T20s back in Sydney to close out the series in October.

“Every player within the squad is ready to move,” Lanning said on Wednesday.

Megan Schutt won’t play against India. Picture: Kerry Marshall/Getty Images

“We are planning on the schedule going ahead as is, but things could change really quickly and we need to be ready for that.

“There is an element of unknown, we haven’t been playing any practice matches, but these days there is no ideal or perfect preparation. You just have to deal with what’s in front of you.

“We’ve got a good base, hitting lots of balls and playing lots of matches in previous seasons, and you have to call on that experiences and trusts yourself and the work you’ve done.

“That can challenge some people, but I think we have dealt with that really well in the past 18 months.

“It’s another challenge to make sure we don’t get too flustered and have ways we can deal with that.”

Australia last played a match in April when Lanning’s team won a world record 24th straight ODI, beating New Zealand.

Selectors have turned to generation next to help carry the bowling load against India with the two highest-ranked ODI bowlers in the world – Jess Jonassen and Megan Schutt – unavailable for selection.

Teenage tearaway Stella Campbell, 19, has been included and joins speedster Tayla Vlaeminck and recalled quick Maitlan Brown as well as all-rounder Annabel Sutherland as fast bowling options along with superstar Ellyse Perry.

World Cup hero Jess Jonassen is injured. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Opening bowler Schutt made herself unavailable for personal reasons, with her wife Jess due to give birth to their first child in early November. Jonassen, the world’s top-ranked ODI bowler, has been ruled out of the tour due to a stress reaction in her lower leg.

“We have some great options with the ball, and they all bring something different,” Lanning said.

“I’m heading into the series excited with the squad we’ve got. Yes, we are missing some experienced players, but the young players we have brought in deserve their spot.

“It doesn’t feel like we have missed out too much (in preparation) apart from being able to come together as a group, which we will hopefully be able to do before the first game.”

The series is supposed to start in Sydney with the first of three ODIs before the one Test in Perth, then the three T20Is.

It will be the first meeting between the teams since the 2020 T20 World Cup final when 86,174 people watched Australian captain Meg Lanning’s team claim their fifth title.

AUSTRALIAN SQUAD TO TAKE ON INDIA:

Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, Stella Campbell, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Redmayne, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

MATCHES

Sep 19: First ODI, North Sydney Oval (D/N)

Sep 22: Second ODI, Junction Oval

Sep 24: Third ODI, Junction Oval

Sep 30 – Oct 3: Test match, WACA Ground (D/N)

Oct 7: First T20, North Sydney Oval

Oct 9: Second T20, North Sydney Oval

Oct 11: Third T20, North Sydney Oval