Bolton eyes first shot at World Cup glory

The sense of excitement and anticipation in Australia’s Women’s World Cup squad has been palpable since their arrival in the United Kingdom three days ago.

All 15 squad members are champing at the bit to do their country proud in the showpiece 50-over tournament - perhaps no one more so than Australian opener Nicole Bolton.

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For Bolton, a one-day specialist in a squad of players who generally represent their country in both limited-overs formats, the World Cup presents her first opportunity at an international tournament.

The diminutive Western Australian made her one-day debut in January 2014 – scoring a century against England at the MCG – and hasn’t missed an ODI since the 2015 Ashes, cementing her position as the rock at the top of the Australian order.

Heading into a maiden World Cup that will provide a chance for the 26-year-old to shine in the format her teammates believe she was “born to play”, Bolton is determined to make the most of it.

“I think I just love batting so much, so the longer the better,” Bolton said of her inclination for the one-day game.

“It’s been the format where I’ve played the majority of my cricket and it just seems to be a more natural sort of form.”

With Australia spending two weeks adjusting to the local conditions ahead of their tournament opener on June 26, Bolton is targeting plenty of time in the middle before that first clash against West Indies in Taunton.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to spend the next couple of weeks training," she said.

“We have a few practice matches before the big one on the 26th, which is important because the conditions are different so it’s great to be over here earlier.”

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The first of those warm-ups is an unofficial clash against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand at Southampton’s Ageas Bowl on Wednesday.

Bolton’s last outing in the green and gold was the one-day series Australia won 2-1 against the White Ferns in February, but after a below par return of 11, 17 and 0 from three innings, the opener is eager to lead the way at the top of the order throughout her team’s six-week World Cup campaign.

“That’s the plan, fingers crossed,” Bolton said.

“Hopefully during the practice games I’ll get a good amount of time in middle and just settle in and see what happens moving forward.

“We have pretty tight contests with the Kiwis and the Rose Bowl (ODI series) was a hotly contested series so Wednesday’s match will be a really good hit out for us.”

While Bolton had an unusually quiet series in New Zealand, her opening partner Beth Mooney dominated, scoring 226 runs at 75.33 to finish as the leading run scorer.

The opening pairing is still a relatively new one for Australia, with Mooney promoted to the top of the order during last November’s ODI series against South Africa, but Bolton believes the two left-handers complement each other nicely.

“Mooney has been in incredible form … she’s really adjusted to her role up the top and loves it and I think I just thrive off that energy from her," she said.

Australia’s unofficial warm-up against New Zealand on Wednesday will see each team field their full 15-player squads in a 50-over-a-side game starting at 11am local time (8pm AEST). 

Women's World Cup 2017 Guide

Australia World Cup squad: Sarah Aley, Kristen Beams, Alex Blackwell (vc), Nicole Bolton, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Meg Lanning (c), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Belinda Vakarewa, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

Squads: Every World Cup squad named so far

Australia's World Cup schedule

View the full tournament schedule here

Warm-up matches

June 20: Australia v South Africa, Oakham

June 22: Australia v Pakistan, Leicester

Tournament

June 26: Australia v West Indies, Taunton

June 29: Sri Lanka v Australia, Bristol

July 2: Australia v New Zealand, Bristol

July 5: Pakistan v Australia, Leicester

July 9: England vAustralia, Bristol

July 12: Australia v India, Bristol

July 15: South Africa v Australia, Taunton

July 18: First semi-final, Bristol

July 20: Second semi-final, Derby

July 23: Final, Lord's