Hamilton ready to take the next step after Australia A call-up

Lucy Hamilton bagged the second-best figures in WBBL history before her 19th birthday – and now with her first preseason as a full-time cricketer under her belt, she’s eyeing bigger and better things for season 2025-26.

Left-arm quick Hamilton, who made headlines when she captured 5-8 for Brisbane Heat against Melbourne Stars last summer, is poised to make her Australia A debut during this month’s multi-format series against India A.

Played across Mackay and Brisbane, the 'A' series action starts with the first of three T20s in Mackay on Thursday, with all games to be streamed live on cricket.com.au and Kayo Sports.

Hamilton's latest accolade comes after the 19-year-old captained Australia’s Under-19s at their T20 World Cup in January.

"I'm finished with under-19s now so it's been good to move through the pathway and play for the Aussie A team," Hamilton told cricket.com.au last week.

"It'll be a great challenge to play in three different formats over three weeks, I'm really excited for it."

It will also follow Hamilton’s first preseason since she relocated full-time to Brisbane after finishing high school late last year.

Hamilton earned her debut Queensland contract in 2022 and spent her first three seasons as a professional cricketer commuting from her hometown of Bundaberg to play WBBL, WNCL and Premier cricket in Brisbane while making the most of school holidays to train alongside her Fire teammates.

"Now I really feel like a full-time professional athlete," she said.

"Last year was a bit of a challenge with preseason, because it's tricky to come down from Bundaberg, but being here every day, it's been great and I can see myself growing.

"It's been great to work with the strength and conditioning coach and work really hard in the gym and put myself in good stead for the season … just the high-quality standard of training week in and week out has been really good.

"Being around the girls and connecting with them the whole time, instead of just a few weeks every now and then, it's been really good for the team and also myself and my cricket."

Hamilton trained alongside Australia’s senior contracted players in Brisbane late last month and will have the chance to play alongside quicks Kim Garth and Darcie Brown during the 50-over leg of the ‘A’ series, while working under Aussie pace mentor Scott Prestwidge.

She will also have the opportunity to test her skills against senior India players including Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia, who have been included in the India A touring party.

"It was really good to get around the (Australian players) and just meet them a bit more in person," Hamilton said.

"You always play against them, but it was nice to say hi and have a chat.

"It'll be really exciting to play alongside those types of people and just bounce off as much information as you can, and I'm just really excited to learn heaps.

"I remember (playing Shafali) in South Africa for the Under-19 World Cup (in 2023) and I was pretty young then, and it was such a surreal moment already.

"To play her again and just see how much I've grown … and to play against athletes that you see on TV all around the world - I'm just really excited to play some really high level cricket for a couple weeks."

The multi-format ‘A’ series will feature three T20s, three one-dayers and a four-day game, with all matches to be streamed live cricket.com.au and Kayo Sports.

Australia A v India A multi-format series 

Australia A T20 squad: Nicole Faltum (c), Tahlia Wilson (vc), Lauren Cheatle, Amy Edgar, Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Alyssa Healy, Anika Learoyd, Madeline Penna, Rachel Trenaman, Courtney Webb

India A T20 squad: Radha Yadav (c), Minnu Mani (vc), Shafali Verma, D. Vrinda, Sajana Sajeevan, Uma Chetry (wk), Raghvi Bist, Prema Rawat, Nandini Kashyap (WK), Tanuja Kanwer, Joshita VJ, Shabnam Shakeel, Saima Thakor, Titas Sadhu, Dhara Gujjar

First T20: August 7, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 6pm AEST

 

Second T20: August 9, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 6pm AEST

 

Third T20: August 10, Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay, 6pm AEST

Australia A 50-Over squad: Tahlia McGrath (c), Nicole Faltum (vc), Lauren Cheatle, Darcie Brown, Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Ella Hayward, Alyssa Healy, Anika Learoyd, Rachel Trenaman, Tahlia Wilson

India A 50-over squad:Radha Yadav (c), Minnu Mani (vc), Shafali Verma, Tejal Hasabnis, Raghvi Bist, Tanushree Sarkar, Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Nandini Kashyap (WK), Dhara Gujjar, Joshita VJ, Shabnam Shakeel, Saima Thakor, Titas Sadhu, Prema Rawat, Yastika Bhatia

First one-dayer: August 13, Northern Suburbs Cricket Club, Brisbane, 9.30am AEST

 

Second one-dayer: August 15, Northern Suburbs Cricket Club, Brisbane, 9.30am AEST

 

Third one-dayer: August 17, Northern Suburbs Cricket Club, Brisbane, 9.30am AEST

Australia A four-day squad: Tahlia Wilson (c), Nicole Faltum (vc), Lauren Cheatle, Maddy Darke, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Ella Hayward, Anika Learoyd, Maitlan Brown, Lilly Mills, Georgia Prestwidge, Rachel Trenaman, Courtney Webb

India A four-day squad: Radha Yadav (c), Minnu Mani (vc), Shafali Verma, Tejal Hasabnis, Raghvi Bist, Tanushree Sarkar, Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Nandini Kashyap (wk), Dhara Gujjar, Joshita VJ, Shabnam Shakeel, Saima Thakor, Titas Sadhu, Prema Rawat

Only four-day match: August 21-24, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 9:30am AEST

All matches will be streamed live on cricket.com.au and Kayo Sports.