SA have retained the same list as they look to take the next step forward under coach Mick Delaney
Consistency key as South Australia look to control own fate
South Australia are determined to control their own fortunes this Women's National Cricket League season, targeting a return to the decider after a strong finish to last summer's campaign.
SA came home with a wet sail in 2025-26, winning six of their final eight matches, but fell just shy of a top-two finish.
Led by seasoned allrounder Jemma Barsby, their squad remains unchanged, reflecting the state's confidence in a group that showed significant promise last season.
Former Australia opener Nicole Bolton has taken the reins as head coach for the opening two matches of the season, covering for Mick Delaney who is touring India with Australia A.
Bolton, who has been an assistant with SA since 2023, said she was relishing the opportunity, while also looking forward to having Aussie stars Tahlia McGrath and Megan Schutt at her disposal for their back-to-back opening day-night matches against Victoria at Junction Oval.
"The last two years, we've gotten so close to making a final, and unfortunately, we had to have results go our way to get in," Bolton told cricket.com.au. "We don't want to be in that position again."
WNCL season previews
Bolton added that retaining the same squad as 2026-27 was a "massive show of faith" for the group, with that consistency laying the foundation for South Australia to carry on last season's late momentum.
The key to success will be building on the attacking style of play South Australia have adopted since Delaney took over as coach in 2024.
"Consistency is really important in how you build a list, so I think being able to have the same group of players over a two-year block is hugely important," she said.
"Everyone's really clear on where they see their role, where they see their improvements and what they offer the team, so I think everyone's really excited.
"One thing that we've spoken a lot about is our journey as a team since Mick's taken over, and I think we were unashamedly forthright in how we wanted to take the game on in our first year under his leadership, and being brave and really shifting our game style to playing a really aggressive, attacking brand of cricket, which was awesome to see.
"And over last season we had to develop what that style looks like and being able to adapt to different situations and conditions and opposition.
"The really cool thing is there's (now) another evolution of our group and being able to put that all together – we want to be brave, we want to be entertaining, and we want to play an attacking brand of cricket.
"Everyone offers something different.
"We're at that point now that if injuries do happen or players are away for whatever reason, we're building a really robust group that anyone can step in and play a role."
Aussie player availability
McGrath, Schutt and Darcie Brown are the three CA-contracted players on the South Australia list. McGrath and Schutt are set to be available for the opening two matches against Victoria, with Aussie players to be in action for their states ahead of upcoming white-ball series against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
Brown, currently touring India with Australia A, is likely to join the SA group for the second of those two matches against the Vics.
Courtney Webb meanwhile will miss both opening games due to Australia A duties.
The Aussie trio's availability for the remainder of the season is less clear: Australia are touring Sri Lanka when the WNCL season resumes in December, and have a packed back-end of the summer featuring the T20 Champions Trophy in February, ODIs against New Zealand in early March, followed by a multi-format tour of South Africa.
The Women's Premier League in India will again be played in January, further impacting the availability of top players – although none of the SA trio featured in 2026, and the 2027 auction has yet to be held.
Brown, dropped for the T20 World Cup, could play a larger role for SA if she does not earn an international recall.
2026-27 squad
Head coach: Mick Delaney
Squad: Hollie Armitage, Jemma Barsby (c), Darcie Brown*, Emma De Broughe, Emmerson Filsell, Ellie Johnston, Eleanor Larosa, Isabella Malgioglio, Tahlia McGrath*, Courtney Neale, Bridget Patterson, Maddie Penna, Kate Peterson, Megan Schutt*, Courtney Webb, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Ella Wilson and Beth Worthley
Rookie: Maggie Clark
* Denotes Cricket Australia contract
Last season
Result: Fourth (7 wins, 4 losses, 1 no result)
South Australia were right in it until the final round, but results needed to fall in their favour for them to advance to the final. They ended up five points shy of second-placed Queensland, who went on to win the title.
Possible XI for round one
Bridget Patterson (wk), Emma de Broughe, Tahlia McGrath, Maddie Penna, Hollie Armitage, Ellie Johnston, Jemma Barsby (c), Amanda-Jade Wellington, Eleanor Larosa, Megan Schutt, Ella Wilson
*Courtney Webb and Darcie Brown are touring India with Australia A
Inside word with assistant coach Nicole Bolton
The preseason
"We kept a similar structure to last year, where we have a bit more of a staggered approach with girls coming back at different times, which I think is really cool because us as coaches get to spend the first couple of weeks with the younger players, and then the senior players filter in over the next couple," Bolton said.
"We were lucky enough that we had a connection camp in Cairns, so it's not too often that we get two opportunities to get away as a group. The Cairns trip was really cool because everyone was there and it wasn't really so much about the cricket. It was just about connecting as a group and we got to do heaps of cool, different sort of things, and it was a bit of a change of scenery.
"Then we've just come back from Maroochydore ... we didn't have our best efforts. I think for us in the past, we've probably used (preseason matches) a little bit more as performance-driven, but I think this year we've taken a slightly different approach, where it was just a continuation of our game-preparation phase, so it wasn't so much about the outcomes and winning games.
"It was just about how we wanted to go about it, how we wanted to communicate as a group and just embedding some of the game style and systems that we've worked hard on over the preseason and seeing where we're at with that. So while results probably weren't in our favour, I think the work behind the scenes and what we got out of it from a learning perspective is going to shape how we prep as we look forward to Victoria."
Areas for improvement
"I think the biggest areas that we can lean into is players just going back to their strengths," Bolton said. "From a batting perspective, we've shown a lot of adaptability, we just need to keep leaning on what people are really good at. We want to address our ability to not lose a cluster of wickets at one time.
"From a bowling perspective, we want to be really disciplined, we want to build pressure and we want to take wickets. We've got such a different make-up of bowlers that can have an impact at any time, so it's just fine-tuning how we utilise those bowlers across the course of the game.
"We've made some massive inroads in our athleticism in the field and creating opportunities. We pride ourselves on being the best fielding team across the domestic competition, and I think we've been able to build some really big gains in our movement, creating different opportunities in our change of direction that I think is going to hold us in really good stead."
McGrath and Schutt available, and return of Armitage
"It's not too often that you see Aussie players pulling on the guernsey for round one, so I think across the board, everyone's really excited to have them back in the team," Bolton said. "And obviously Hollie Armitage coming back over from the UK again, she's massive for our group, great leadership, and just a great person."
Striving for improvement
"There's been a real purpose and deliberateness within this group to wanting to get better," Bolton said. "The way every player attacked their preseason, their skill development, and even just how they're connecting into how we want to be, has been awesome.
"There's just been a collective shift around how we want to go about it and how we don't want to rely on results to get us to the big dance."