Adelaide: Australia's elite women's team are hoping to build on the surging interest in women's cricket from the Women's Big Bash League when they begin their series against India on Tuesday.
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All three of the Southern Stars' Twenty20 matches will precede the men's matches, first at Adelaide Oval and then at the MCG and SCG later this week.
The series, which also includes three one-dayers, will be the first time the national team has played since winning the Ashes away to England last year. The main changes in that time are the omissions of opening batter Elyse Villani and off-spinner Erin Osborne in favour of two uncapped members of Sydney Thunder's title-winning team: fast-bowler Lauren Cheatle and hitter Naomi Stalenberg. Brisbane wicketkeeper-batter Beth Mooney is also an early selection.
"With all the game we've had they've really stood out, so they've deserved to be picked," said Meg Lanning, the Southern Stars' captain.
Cheatle is only 17, the same age fellow fast-bowler Holly Ferling was when she debuted three years ago. Her elevation was welcomed by her new captain.
"She's shown she can swing the new ball, and as a left-armer coming into a right-handed bat I think that's a really good skill to have. She's shown throughout the whole WBBL she's very capable of taking wickets, which is what you want upfront," Lanning said of Cheatle. "It's great to see some young players in the squad who will get their chance."
Lanning confirmed she and her teammates wanted to capitalise on interest generated from the just-completed WBBL.
"There's no doubt that as a team we want to play exciting cricket, be really attacking with both bat and ball. The WBBL has given us a great platform to work off, and now we've got the best players coming out of that competition playing for Australia now," she said. "I think the WBBL has been a great spectacle for the game and really allowed it to engage with new fans and get out to more of the public than it's been before."
The Southern Stars have not played India in three and a half years. Excepting captain Mithali Raj and vice-captain Jhulan Goswami, the Australian players are likely going to have to rely on video footage to scout the majority of the squad.
"It'll be a good challenge for us to come up against a different team we haven't played against," Lanning said.
The Southern Stars are so confident leg-spinner Kristen Beams will recover from a dislocated thumb in time for next month's series in New Zealand, if not earlier, they have declined to name a replacement series for this Twenty20 series.
The series will serve as the first home internationals for Grace Harris, the big-hitting all-rounder who debuted late in the Ashes. Lanning lauded the potential of the 22-year-old, who she argued was capable of clearing boundaries "probably better than anyone else in world cricket".
"Grace is a matchwinner, really. She only needs to face 10 or 15 balls and she can really get your team into a good position," Lanning said of the Queenslander.
The match will begin at 2pm local time.
AUSTRALIA (from): Meg Lanning (c), Alex Blackwell (vc), Lauren Cheatle, Sarah Coyte, Rene Farrell, Holly Ferling, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Naomi Stalenberg.
INDIA (from): Mithali Raj (c), Jhulan Goswami (vc), Smriti Mandhana, MD Thirushkamini, Harmanpreet Kaur, Veda Krishnamurthy, Shikha Pandey, Niranjana Nagarajan, Sushma Verma, Ekta Bisht, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, VR Vanitha, Anuja Patil, Deepti Sharma.
