Attacking approach to stay but refinement needed: Wareham

Australia won’t back down from their aggressive approach with the bat, but Georgia Wareham says greater accountability will be key as the hosts look to bounce back in Thursday's second T20I against India.

Australia's 133 all out in Sydney on Sunday was just the second time they have been bowled out batting first in a home T20I, with Wareham top-scoring with a rapid 30 at No.6.

The hosts' attacking mindset was clear from the outset, with the run rate hovering above 8.5 for the majority of their innings, but a series of rash shots and a failure to build partnerships proved costly.

While rain ended the match after 5.1 overs of India's chase, the tourists were 1-50 – securing a 21-run DLS win – and had the game gone the distance, were on track to reel in their target with ease.

"(It wasn't) the start we would have liked the other night, but I don't think our plan changes too much going forward," Wareham told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.

"I think the real pleasing thing as a batting group is we're just taking the game on. It didn't pay off for us, but I think the plan stays pretty similar.

"As a group, a lot of us took some risks that we probably didn't need to at the time."

Australia pledged to play a braver, bolder brand of white-ball cricket, particularly with the bat, in the aftermath of their 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final exit – where they were ousted after posting a below-par 5-134 on a good batting deck – adopting a 'no ceilings' mentality to maximise their enviable batting depth.

But they have been adamant that rather than simply going out 'all guns blazing', that aggressive approach had to be matched with smart cricket and an ability to adapt to the conditions.

"When you get bowled out in a T20 game it's not ideal in any sort of conditions (and) a few of us just needed to take a little bit more ownership through the middle there," Wareham continued.

"Just to try and build some partnerships and get us to a decent total at the end where we could accelerate a little bit later."

The shift in approach worked well for Australia in early 2025, when they won six T20Is on the trot against England and New Zealand.

However, an 11-month gap between games in the shortest format – and a subsequent change in captaincy – has left them needing to rebuild momentum with just five official T20Is until the T20 World Cup in June.

Part of Australia's approach has been to reward T20 form and push players with higher strike rates up the order. As a result, Wareham was promoted to No.6 for the opening T20I, a move coach Shelley Nitschke said was a reflection of her recent form in franchise competitions.

Batting at No.5 for the Renegades in Weber WBBL|11, Wareham struck 277 runs at an average of 39.57 and strike rate of 147.34 across 10 innings, and combined with an outstanding season with the ball that saw her collect 19 wickets at 10.94, was named the player of the tournament.

She carried that form into the Women's Premier League, where she played a similar role for Gujarat Giants, scoring 178 runs at 35.6 with strike rate of 144.71.

"I've had quite a bit of experience batting at five, six in some franchise stuff," Wareham said.

"So for Shell and the rest of the coaching group to have that faith in me to do that in this team has been awesome.

"I would have liked to be in there for a little bit longer the other night, as would everyone out there.

"But I think our philosophy is just to try and take the game on and reach some new heights as a batting group.

"You're going to get games where it doesn't work out like it did the other day. But we still want to be looking to play a really positive game."

Australia will be looking to claim their first points of the multi-format series at Manuka Oval on Thursday night, currently trailing 0-2 with each white-ball game worth two points and a Test win worth four.

Wareham said she was expecting a high-scoring contest with the forecast for Thursday warm and clear in a positive change after the opening T20I was washed out 5.1 overs into the second innings.

"I think the wicket's usually really good, and scores are always really high," she said.

"No doubt there will be plenty of boundaries and hopefully (for our bowlers) a lot of wickets.

"It's always pretty exciting cricket here."

NRMA Insurance Australia v India Multi-Format Series

India lead the multi-format series 2-0

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: India won by 21 runs (DLS)

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)