Allrounder Villani open to change

Elyse Villani is embracing life as Australia's newest allrounder, eagerly anticipating the opportunities her new-found versatility could present in next month's Women's World Cup.

Before last November, Villani had only ever opened the batting for Australia in her 56 matches across all three formats.

But when an in-form Beth Mooney was installed at the top of the order mid-way through last year's ODI series against South Africa, Villani suddenly found herself in an unfamiliar position in the middle order.

In that same match in Coffs Harbour, she experienced another first: called upon by skipper Meg Lanning to bowl her maiden delivery in international cricket.

Six months on, and Villani has been working hard to finesse her part-time, right-arm seam with Australia bowling coach Joe Dawes, while head coach Matthew Mott believes he's never seen the 27-year-old strike the ball better than she has during the Southern Stars' pre-World Cup camps.

It bodes well for a successful tournament in the United Kingdom, where Villani hopes her new roles will give her the best possible chance of maintaining her place in the Australia XI.

"I'm really grateful to Motty and the selectors for giving me another chance in the middle order," Villani told cricket.com.au.

"I'm really relishing that opportunity. It coincides with how I play my T20 cricket a bit more and it means I can keep a more consistent process across both formats and back myself.

"I know my job is to take on the game and be as positive as possible."

Quick Single: Demoted Villani thrives in new home

She is one of the country's most successful Twenty20 players – one of only three Australians to have scored more than 1000 runs in the shortest format – but Villani knew she needed to add some extra strings to her bow to find that same success in ODIs.

So far her move down the order has resulted in a maiden ODI half-century, and Villani is hopeful of further improving that record in the UK.

"I've shown I'm not pigeon-holed anymore and I'm enjoying being seen as a batter, not just an opener.

"I've developed my play against spin a lot in the last four years and that's become a bit of a strength of mine.

"I'm hoping to be a consistent member of the 50-over side, that's been my goal for a few years."

Bowling remains a part-time art for Villani, who has now turned the arm over in four ODIs for a return of two wickets, but it's one she feels confident of executing successfully if called upon during the World Cup.

"Since moving to the middle order, I want to be versatile and be an option for Meg," she adds.

"I've worked really hard in the off-season on my bowling and Joe Dawes been excellent and really helped me with that area of my game and given me a lot of confidence going forward."

Her hard work has not gone unnoticed, with Mott praising Villani's transformation from a "one-dimensional" player.

"I'm confident she's found another gear with her batting and she's worked extremely hard on her bowling as well," Mott told cricket.com.au.

"We want two-dimensional players (in the team) and hopefully three-dimensional, and Villani is someone who's really taken that idea and run with it, especially with her bowling."

Another factor driving Villani is the experience of travelling to India with Australia's World Cup squad as an uncapped player in 2013, only to spend the tournament – which the Southern Stars won – carrying the drinks.

"Alyssa Healy and I were the chief drinks runners in 2013 and it was a fantastic tournament to be a part of," she said.

"Sitting and watching the games unfold and the tournament unfold … it really made us want to be a part of it.  Hopefully this time, we'll be able to play a few games as well.

"It was an amazing squad in 2013 and it made me a bit hungrier to be a part of this squad and play a bit more of a part on game days."

Australia are finalising their World Cup preparations on the Sunshine Coast this week with a series of intra-squad practice matches, ahead of their departure for England on June 10.

Australia's World Cup schedule

June 26: Australia v West Indies, Taunton

June 29: Australia v Sri Lanka, Bristol

July 2: Australia v New Zealand, Bristol

July 5: Australia v Pakistan, Leicester

July 9: Australia v England, Bristol

July 12: Australia v India, Bristol

July 15: Australia v South Africa, Taunton

July 18: First semi-final, Bristol

July 20: Second semi-final, Derby

July 23: Final, Lord's

Commonwealth Bank Women's Ashes schedule

October 22: First ODI, Allan Border Field, Brisbane

October 26: Second ODI, Coffs Intl Stadium, Coffs Harbour 

October 29: Third ODI, Coffs Intl Stadium, Coffs Harbour 

November 9-12: Day-night Test, North Sydney Oval, Sydney

November 17: First T20I: North Sydney Oval, Sydney

November 19: First T20I: Manuka Oval, Canberra

November 21: First T20I: Manuka Oval, Canberra