Winning a World Cup requires strong performances from all 11 players on the field, yet Australia have been operating without utilising their squad to its fullest at this tournament.
Against India, Molly Strano was only trusted to bowl two overs.
Against Sri Lanka, Delissa Kimmince was only given one over despite having bowled effectively against India.
Against India and New Zealand, Annabel Sutherland was selected as a non-bowling No.8 batter. Even after Ellyse Perry’s injury in Monday’s game, captain Meg Lanning chose to go with Ash Gardner’s part-time spin rather than trust Sutherland.
It is understandable to heavily rely upon bowlers like Perry, Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen – they are among the best in the world. However, this continued reliance causes a problem if one of those players is injured or suffers a loss in form.
And with Perry out for the rest of the World Cup, there are genuine questions about how overs will be allocated.
Teammates react as Ellyse Perry is injured (AAP Image/Scott Barbour
Schutt and Jonassen can be counted on to provide eight quality overs. To date, Georgia Wareham and Nicola Carey have been reliable additions, although Carey was expensive against the Kiwis as she struggled to find a good length late in the innings.
That still leaves at least four potential overs to be bowled. It is unrealistic to expect Gardiner’s part-time spin to fill that quota, but where else do they come from?
The primary options are Sutherland, Strano, Kimmince and Sophie Molineux, but each offers cause for concern.
Lanning apparently does not trust Sutherland to bowl against the stronger teams. For a player finding their feet in international cricket, there is an increased need to feel that you belong within the set-up but her treatment means Sutherland cannot feel confident about her bowling.
Molineux has yet to play in the Cup and it is always a risk to bring in a player late in a tournament. However, Molineux has played some strong matches recently and looked good against England in the warm-up games.
Sophie Molineux playing for Renegades (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Kimmince is the closest replacement for Perry, as a useful hitter who can be relied upon to deliver quality seam bowling – she sent down four inexpensive overs against India. However, as the semi-final is to be played at the SCG, more spin options may be the preference.
The best spinner available is then Strano, who bowled well against Sri Lanka before surprisingly being left out. My personal pick to bowl the remaining overs, Strano’s downside is the team’s batting would be left worryingly thin.
The questions at hand stem from the selection policy used thus far. Teams generally either rotate players to give the entire squad a chance to remain in form, or continually pick the best team so as to maintain match fitness for the latter stages.
Australia has gone with the second option and while this is a reasonable choice, they could have used the match against Bangladesh to give players like Strano, Kimmince and Molineux some match practice.
That decision may come back to haunt them, as one of those players is going to be relied upon in a key moment against South Africa, India or England.
Hopefully, the lack of game time will not count against them.
Patrick
Roar Pro
Obviously covering Perry presents a huge challenge, but I disagree with the premise that Australia rely on too few with the ball (perhaps it wasn’t your title). In Perry, Schutt, and Jonassen, Australia has three of the best bowlers in world cricket- thats 12 entire overs, which are difficult to even take for a run a ball. In T20s that’s remarkable. Obviously without Perry, this is just 8 overs, but even then, it places a lot of pressure on the batting side. Its not like the next tier are lousy either, their T20 International numbers are still fantastic: Wareham: 26 wickets @ 13.5, economy 5.7; Carey: 8 wickets @ 22.37, economy 6.39; Kimmince: 37 wickets @ 23.08, economy 6.83; Molineux: 19 wickets @ 19.73, economy 6; Strano: 9 wickets @ 17.55, economy 6.32; Gardner (better than part-time): 23 wickets @ 22.82, economy 6.84. Sure, some lack experience, but none go at more than 7 runs per over. When you consider that a run rate of 7 is a team score of just 140, thats quite remarkable. Sutherland is probably the exception- she’s gone at almost 9 an over in her limited opportunities to date. After an ordinary WBBL, its hard to see why she’s in the squad. Surely Tahlia McGrath would have been a better option. As for lack of match practice, I see the concern, but to me that reflects the incredible depth of the team. Even then, Wareham has played the last two games, Kimmince has bowled a fair bit across the tri-series and world cup, Strano played the first two, and Carey has had a fair few overs recently. Molineux, Sutherland and Erin Burns are probably the only ones lacking match practice, and only one of them is in the current 11. Plus, with 7 genuine bowling options in the XI (only Mooney, Healy, Lanning, and Haynes don’t bowl), if someone isn’t performing, just don’t give them another over.
Wayne
Roar Guru
Rain forecast, it might be a washout and Aus lose by default :(
Dutski
Roar Guru
Strano is the pick for mine, and Kimmince. Totally rate Wareham and Molineux. The odd one out is Sutherland. A pick on potential over Strano in the squad to begin and pretty much a passenger to date in that she hasn’t batted or bowled. It’s clear that Lanning doesn’t back her bowling. As long as Sutherland is not bowled Australia are playing with 10, so bring in another player.