Meg Lanning To Lead Australia Women In Commonwealth Games, Ellyse Perry Set To Play As Batter

Cricket Australia on Friday named a full-strength women’s squad for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, set to go ahead in Birmingham this year. Women’s T20 cricket will make its debut at the Birmingham Games, with Australia to face Barbados, India and Pakistan in Group A. The semi-finals will be played at the conclusion of the pool rounds, with bronze and gold medal matches to follow. The 15 players who have been chosen to represent Australia at the upcoming Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games will be competing in a Tri-Series against Ireland and Pakistan in Northern Ireland on the eve of the Games.

Australia’s Head of Performance (Women’s Cricket) and National Selector, Shawn Flegler, in an official release, said: “Following the success of the side at the recent World Cup, the focus now turns to the T20 format with two major tournaments – the Commonwealth Games and 2023 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa – on the horizon. The team’s style of play has been fairly consistent over the past couple of years, in both T20 and 50-over formats, and so we’ve been focusing on developing players who can play across formats; it’s great that we’ve been able to retain the same group of players that competed so well at the World Cup.”

Providing an update on the fitness of injured duo, Tayla Vlaeminck and Georgia Wareham, Australian Women’s Team Physiotherapist, Kate Beerworth said: “Georgia had an ACL reconstruction in February and is progressing well in the early stages of her rehab. She’s working towards a return to play in early 2023. Tayla is also progressing well in her rehab after sustaining a navicular stress fracture prior to the Ashes in January, a similar injury to what she suffered prior to the 2020 T20 World Cup. She’s been working with The Australian Ballet over the past few months and will continue to progress her rehab using a collaborative approach with Cricket Victoria, Cricket Australia and Australian Ballet staff. Tayla’s injury is long-term and she remains unavailable for the Tri-Series, Commonwealth Games and the WBBL, with no date set for her return at this stage.”

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Commenting on the fitness of all-rounder, Ellyse Perry, Beerworth said: “Ellyse is recovering from a stress fracture in her lower back and is expected to play as a batter. Her availability to bowl will be dependent on her progress in the coming weeks and on the medical advice.”

Australia Squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes, Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington