Wilson plots path forward after record-breaking summer

In the aftermath of Tahlia Wilson's record-breaking 2024-25 domestic season, she remembers being frequently asked, 'You should be pretty happy with how the summer went?'

But the 25-year-old wicketkeeper-batter was already wondering, 'How can I get better?'

Wilson took all before her at the top of the order and behind the stumps for New South Wales last Women's National Cricket League season, scoring 677 runs - the most by a Breaker in a single campaign - to be crowned the country's top female domestic player of 2024-25.

After a preseason spent refining her game, she now hopes to go even bigger in 2025-26 starting with this month's Australia A series against India A.

Wilson will feature in all three formats, captaining the four-day game and serving as deputy to Nicole Faltum in the 20-over leg starting in Mackay on Thursday.

"People have said to me, 'You know, you had such a good season last year, you should be pretty happy'. But I think there's always room for improvement," Wilson told cricket.com.au before she joined the Australia A squad in Mackay.

"I think there's just a few little bits and pieces around how I start my innings that I just want to tidy up, and I feel like I've improved them.

"It'll be nice to see if they pay off in the A series coming up.

"We've got a few of the Aussie girls as well that'll be playing with us in the T20s and the one-dayers, so I think that just adds another element – if you get to be out there batting with Tahlia McGrath and Alyssa Healy, that definitely just helps you add to your game and there's no better experience than out in the middle."

During the offseason, Wilson completed her Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in financial planning, following seven-and-a-half years of studying, a degree she hopes will help future-proof her eventual life after cricket.

That kind of forward-thinking appears to be the norm for Wilson, who is among a cohort of 20-something Australians vying to be the eventual successors to Healy and Beth Mooney behind the stumps at international level – although her feats with the willow in recent years also make a strong case for a future in the green and gold as a specialist bat.

Healy's presence in the 'A' white-ball squads, where she will 'keep during the one-day leg, and the selection of fellow keepers Faltum and Maddy Darke will likely mean Wilson's opportunities with the gloves are limited during this series, but she is nonetheless determined to soak up the chance to watch the current Australian captain go about her business.

"Last (month) I was in Brisbane for one of the Australian training camps ... we were lucky enough to have Tim Paine there as our 'keeping coach, so it was nice to pick his brain and just see what he thought about keeping and how he went about it as a player as well," Wilson said.

"I think we all might get a crack (with the gloves) at some point, which will be good.

"It's great to see that there's three of us that are still making our way up into the system and if Midge does end up retiring soon, then you've still got Moons that comes in, so it'll be a nice little competition (between the rest of us).

"The best thing is we all enjoy working together – when I was up in Brisbane, Nic was up there with me, and we had a great time keeping together."

The multi-format 'A' series will feature three T20s, three one-dayers and a four-day game, with all matches to be streamed live on 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.