Australia’s Women's team will have a major boost ahead of their semifinal clash with India in the ongoing International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s T20 World Cup. The Aussies take on India in the semifinal of the tournament on Thursday (February 23) as a place in the final is up for grabs. Skipper Meg Lanning took to the press on Wednesday to confirm the news that wicketkeeper batter Alyssa Healy is set to feature in the all-important clash.
Healy to return
The star wicketkeeper-batter sat out the final group game with a sore quadricep – a largely precautionary measure – but captain Meg Lanning confirmed ahead of Australia’s final training session on Wednesday she had a full squad of 15 to choose from for the knockout game.
Annabel Sutherland is likely the player who will make way for Healy after being brought into the XI for that match against South Africa, but Lanning was tight-lipped around any other potential changes on the eve of the semi-final.
Jess Jonassen sat on the bench through the final three group games after making way for leg-spinner Georgia Wareham.
But the experienced left-arm spinner has come up clutch for Australia in some of their most important victories in recent years.
"We've got a full squad, Alyssa Healy is fit and available, which is great for us," Lanning said.
"She's had a great tournament so far and is going to play an important role.
"So that's nice, but it does make it pretty difficult to get it down to 11.
"We haven't settled on what the team looks like yet, but it is nice to have everybody available."
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India also face selection headache
India have their own selection calls to make after spinner Radha Yadav missed their last match against Ireland due to illness. She was replaced by leg-spin bowling allrounder Devika Vaidya for that game, and India will need to determine which combination they feel will best test Australia’s deep batting line-up.
The Semifinal clash between India Women and Australia Women will take place on Thursday (February 23) at the Newlands in Cape Town with the match starting at 6:30 PM and the toss taking place at 6:00 PM.
