Cheatle debuts as Healy wins toss in Mumbai

Lauren Cheatle will make her Test debut as Australia bat first in their long-awaited red-ball match against India at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

Alyssa Healy won the toss on the opening day for the four-day clash, and unsurprisingly elected to bat first on a pitch that is expected to become increasingly spin friendly as it deteriorates.

Cheatle became the 184th woman to represent Australia in Tests after being presented with her Baggy Green by Ellyse Perry.

Australia XI: Beth Mooney, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath, Alyssa Heally (c, wk), Annabel Sutherland, Ashleigh Gardner, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Kim Garth, Lauren Cheatle

India XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh

Fellow quick Darcie Brown was a surprise omission from the Australia XI, with Cheatle one of two specialist quicks in the XI alongside Kim Garth.

The Australians have gone with a three-strong spin attack featuring off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner, left-armer Jess Jonassen and leg-spinner Alana King, with the squad’s second wrist spinner Georgia Wareham the unlucky player to miss out.

This is the first Test Australia’s woman have played in India since 1984 – long before any player on either team was born.

Cheatle's long-awaited Test debut is reward after years of injury struggles for the 25-year-old.

The left-arm quick was on the verge of a Test debut during the 2017 Ashes only to be ruled out of contention with a stress fracture in her back.

Her international career, which started in India in 2016, has also been cruelly interrupted by four shoulder reconstructions and a brush with skin cancer.

This is Cheatle's first international appearance for Australia since early 2019.

She was recalled for the tour of India off the back of excellent domestic form during WBBL|09, and after impressing with the Dukes ball during Australia A's tour of the United Kingdom in June.

"(Getting a Baggy Green) would be indescribable," Cheatle told cricket.com.au shortly after her arrival in Mumbai. "Growing up, it's something you dream of as a kid in the backyard.

"I remember my brother and I used to play mini-Tests when the cricket was on TV, in the breaks we'd go in the backyard and one of us would always be England or Australia, and we had these fake little Baggies that we'd put on.

"So if there is an opportunity to wear a Baggy Green, it would be unbelievable."

Australia's CommBank Tour of India

December 21-24: Test match, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

December 28: First ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

December 30: Second ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

January 2: Third ODI, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

January 5: First T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

January 7: Second T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

January 9: Third T20I, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai

Australia squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Lauren Cheatle (Test only), Heather Graham, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris (T20s only), Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

India Test squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), Richa Ghosh (wk), Sneh Rana, Shubha Satheesh, Harleen Deol, Saika Ishaque, Renuka Singh Thakur, Titas Sadhu, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar