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Women cricketers to play A series at home

3 minute read

Australia's women's cricketers will play a full 'A' series at home for the first time this summer, before the Twenty20 World Cup.

Australian selectors will be given the chance to cast the net wide for the women's Twenty20 World Cup, with an historic maiden home A-series to be played this summer.

Just two months out from the national team's home World Cup defence, Australia's fringe talent will play three T20s and one-dayers against India A in December.

The Brisbane and Gold Coast matches will come after the Women's Big Bash League and make for the first official women's A-series in Australia.

This follows 'A' tours of India last year and one alongside the men in England this winter, drawing level and arguably taking it beyond the chances offered to the equivalent men's players.

"The pathway is the mirror image of what happens in the male space," National Performance Squad (NPS) manager Leah Poulton said.

"An Australia A squad is just really clear for the players, coaches and the fans, they are looking at the squad and know exactly what the opportunity is.

"People are always watching and taking note of those things. Any time the girls can play at a decent level and perform well, it's helping their case."

The increase in the pathways system since the professionalisation of the women's game has helped a regeneration of the No.1 ranked side over the past year.

The introduction of the NPS was formalised in 2017, with the country's younger talent training with the main squad in Brisbane each off-season with access to their coaches and support staff.

Victorians Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Tayla Vlamenick all came out of that program and played in the World T20-winning squad last summer, while NSW quick Lauren Cheatle also regained her spot following injury through the program.

An under-19s Australian side has also been added, with a maiden women's youth World Cup now confirmed for 2021.

"You get a little glimpse of it (in those sides and training), and in a sense does make you quite hungry," Molineux said.

"At times you actually feel quite close to something that once you might have felt far away from. Games like that make you feel like you're in the hunt.

"You don't know how close you are until it all happens very quickly."

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