MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Australia has announced it will host its first women’s World Cup tournament. cricket Ashley Gardner was confirmed Wednesday as one of two co-captains who were removed from the team captaincy earlier this year since Alyssa Healy retired.
healy announced in January She said she was planning to retire after the series against India. healy He ended his one-day international career in March. score 158 When Australia won a comfortable victory over India.
Spinner Sophie Molyneux will lead Australia’s squad at the Twenty20 World Cup, to be held in England and Wales from June 12 to July 5. The tournament will see 12 teams play 33 matches across seven venues, with the final being played at Lord’s.
New Zealand are defending champions After defeating South Africa by 32 points in the United Arab Emirates in 2024. Australia will win in 2023 They defeated South Africa by 19 points in South Africa to win their third title in six consecutive years.
Australia will open the tournament on June 13th against South Africa at Old Trafford.
Left-arm fast bowler Lucy Hamilton surprisingly featured in place of Darcy Brown, who took 34 wickets in 41 T20 matches. Grace Harris and all-rounder Annabel Sutherland return to the team.
Australian selector Sean Flegler praised Molineux for his immediate impact as captain following Healy’s retirement.
“Selecting these teams is never easy, but we are confident in the balance and stability of the group as a whole. It is an experienced group and we believe we can win the World Cup,” Flegler said.
He said Brown was “unlucky to miss out.”
“This decision was based on the conditions we expected and the composition of our team,” Flegler added. “We have at least six right-arm pace options and we don’t expect raw pace to be very effective, so we decided to go with Lucy Hamilton, who offers something different as a left-arm quick.”
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Australia: Nicola Carey, Ashley Gardner (vice-captain), Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Talia McGrath (vice-captain), Sophie Molyneux (captain), Beth Mooney, Elise Perry, Megan Shutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Vol, Georgia Wareham, Talia Wilson (reserve)
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AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
