Molineux to do it her way in quest to lead Aus to new heights

Sophie Molineux says it will take courage, but Australia's new captain believes she can keep the national side at the top – and reach new heights – as they look to replenish their depleted World Cup trophy cabinet.

Molineux was on Thursday unveiled as the successor to Alyssa Healy, with her first assignment the upcoming T20I leg of the multi-format series against India, before she takes over the ODI and Test formats in the Caribbean in March.

The left-arm spin-bowling allrounder takes over a team that remains at the top of the world rankings in both white-ball formats, but which is still smarting after being knocked out of the last two World Cups, the T20I event in 2024 and ODI tournament in 2025, at the semi-final stage.

"We have lost the last two World Cups that we have been a part of and we're not going to shy away from that," Molineux told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.

"They hurt. And we have spent time in reflection.

"I think we have just got the right ingredients to go to another level, and that's what we're all excited about.

"It's going to take a bit of courage. We're not defending anymore, we have to go out there and get it ourselves.

"And that's a really exciting place to be – and we haven't been in that place for a long time."

Molineux's first major challenge looms close on the horizon: a T20 World Cup in the United Kingdom in June, where Australia find themselves placed in a tricky group alongside India and South Africa.

They'll play just six T20Is between now and then, leaving Molineux and coach Shelley Nitschke needing to quickly define what their new era will look like.

"For us, it's just about sitting down and really teasing out the areas we think we need to grow or change, and really honing in on what that is," Nitschke said on Thursday.

"I think we've been playing a really good brand of cricket, so I don't expect that there's going to be too many wholesale changes … I'm sure Soph's going to have some ideas, it's just getting really specific on what that looks like and how we're going to go about it, and starting to implement that as soon as we can into both training and games."

Taking over the reins of the Australian team, Molineux will draw on the lessons she has learnt playing under the likes of Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy, and from the mentoring she has received from Australia legend Belinda Clark.

Asked what her ethos will be as she becomes the Australian women's team's 21st captain, Molineux was also adamant she will do it her way.

"My captaincy philosophy, I think is probably more around the people, for me," she said.

"I look at that Australian team and what we have now, and we've got generational talent at both ends of the scale, and to be able to bring all that together, that's the beauty and the really exciting part for me, moving forward and working with Shell, Ash (Gardner) and Tahlia (McGrath), bringing it all together and seeing if we can go to new heights.

"I've learned so much through my experiences of playing under (Lanning and Healy), and I've got a lot of amazing mentors and family that I'll lean on along the way.

"Everyone's got their different strengths and I think the one thing I'll do is be myself – you can't take the kid out of Bairnsdale."

Molineux has played just 58 matches for Australia since her debut aged 20 in 2018 thanks to a run of serious shoulder, knee and foot injuries that have interrupted her career.

She returned from a knee injury to feature in Australia's ODI World Cup squad last October, playing just four out of seven matches as her workloads were carefully managed, but when fit she is considered a walk-up start to any Australian squad.

National selector Shawn Flegler on Thursday signalled that Australia would continue to take a cautious approach to Molineux's workloads to ensure she was available for major tournaments and series, while the Victorian said she was confident she was on the right track.

"That was a part of the conversations before today and I've got every trust in Shell, Flegs and the medical team that they'll do the right thing by me and the team," Molineux said.

"I'm going to do everything I can to play every game of cricket for my country and lead the group.

"But at the same time, we do have to be smart – it's not our first rodeo, we've been here before, so we're going to have to keep managing it.

"But I think everything's building up nicely to be able to play some more cricket, more consistently for hopefully a long time."

NRMA Insurance Australia v India Multi-Format Series

Australia T20I squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

 

India T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Arundhati Reddy, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Shreyanka Patil

February 15: First T20, SCG, 7:15pm AEDT

February 19: Second T20, Manuka Oval, Canberra, 7:15pm AEDT

February 21: Third T20, Adelaide Oval, 7:15pm AEDT

Australia ODI squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

 

India ODI squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Kashvee Gautam, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Uma Chetry, Harleen Deol

February 24: First ODI, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 2:50pm AEDT

February 27: Second ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50pm AEDT

March 1: Third ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50pm AEDT

Australia Test squad: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham

 

India Test squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Sneh Rana, Amanjot Kaur, Uma Chetry, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, Sayali Satghare

March 6-9: Test match, WACA Ground, 4:20pm AEDT (D/N)