Sophie Molineux wins back spot on Cricket Australia contract list

An Australian all-rounder has overcome a horror run of injury to win back her national contract, with ramifications for a fellow left-arm spinner.

Australia’s head selector says “there’s room” for out-of-favour spinner Jess Jonassen to play again in green and gold after she retained her national contract despite Sophie Molineux’s return.

Jonassen held her spot on Cricket Australia’s list of 17 contracted players announced Monday as Molineux was praised for her “great deal of resilience” in overcoming a horror run of injuries to win back her spot.

Australia will only play three official T20 games before September’s World Cup in Bangladesh, with Molineux clearly ahead of Jonassen in the pecking order for a spin slot alongside Georgia Wareham and Alana King.

But head selector Shawn Flegler said the 31-year-old still had time to re-enter national calculations after she lost her Test spot to Molineux and then was left out of Australia’s white-ball squad when it toured Bangladesh last month.

“Well the World Cup is still a few months away, but we’re keen to see Soph (Molineux) back in that squad, and she performed very well in those conditions,” he said.

Australian all-rounder Sophie Molineux has won back her national contract and looms as a key part of the side’s campaign in 2023-24, which includes a T20 World Cup and the Ashes. Picture: Abhishek Chinnappa / Getty Images

“We take a squad of 15 to the World Cup … Jess, we were very clear at the time that we still think there’s room for her to keep having an opportunity in the team.

“Obviously Soph has taken her chance, but the conditions in Bangladesh did suit spin bowling – we’re fortunate with the amount of depth we have with our spin bowlers … there’s time, you never know what will happen over the next five or six months with injuries, so Jess has just got to be ready to go if that does happen.”

With no international cricket scheduled until September’s three-match T20 tour of New Zealand, Fleger said the Australians were still confident they were taking the right approach to the World Cup.

He said the emphasis over the long off-season was firmly on fitness as the side prepares to play in searing heat during their group stage matches in Sylhet.

Left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen has fallen to the back of the pecking order but could still play an important role at the World Cup in Bangladesh this September according to Australia’s chief selector. Picture: Marco Longari / AFP

“We’ve got a good opportunity now for the girls to have a break but then get back into their fitness programs, we’ll have a couple of games up here in Brisbane and then some players heading off to play in the Hundred,” he said.

“We believe that’s still the ideal preparation for the World Cup, we’re still working on an ‘A’ series against India over here (during winter), and whoever doesn’t go to The Hundred will have the chance to play in that as well.”

Flegler said Tasmanian quick Heather Graham was still trusted to step into the Australian side after her year was ruined by “a couple of injuries at just the wrong time”, while the timeline on injured seamer Darcie Brown’s return remained unclear as she awaited further scans on a foot stress fracture.

He confirmed Cricket Australia’s 17 contract offers had all been accepted, after Nicola Carey last year turned down an offer in a bid to find some continuity after a frustrating period on the fringes of the national side.

Cricket Australia women’s central contracts

Darcie Brown, Ash Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy,JessJonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham.

IN: Sophie Molineux

OUT: Meg Lanning (retired)

Originally published as Sophie Molineux wins back spot on Cricket Australia contract list