'Relieved' McGrath goes back to basics ahead of captaincy return

A shift in mentality is driving Tahlia McGrath's push to recapture her best as she takes on the Australian ODI captaincy against Bangladesh.

While most of her national teammates were playing in The Hundred throughout August, the allrounder, who opted out of this year's auction, was instead spending valuable time at home following the end of the T20 World Cup in July.

It was there, training alongside her South Australian teammates in Adelaide, that McGrath – with her role in the Australian side very much up in the air after being left on the bench through the ICC tournament – opted to take a different approach to her preparations for season 2026-27.

"(It was) just a few minor tweaks," McGrath told reporters in Brisbane on Thursday. "I've stopped really focusing on my weaknesses and honing back in on what I'm good at.

"I'm still not totally forgetting about weaknesses, but really remembering what makes me play good cricket and focusing on that a bit more – so just a slight little shift there, and so far it's worked, so I'll roll with that for a little bit.

"Cricket and especially batting is such a confidence and mind space thing that is sometimes really hard to find your groove and find that confidence.

"For me, it was stripping it right back to basics, (asking) what am I good at and homing in on that, and just getting a bit of confidence."

That work appeared to pay immediate dividends when McGrath hammered 154 from 137 deliveries in a one-dayer for South Australia against a Victoria line-up featuring national teammates Kim Garth, Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham last week.

It was her first century in any format since September 2022, in what was her first official match since April.

"That knock for South Australia, it's done me a world of good, and I'm feeling in a really good place at the moment," McGrath said.

"It was a relief to score runs because I haven't really contributed to teams I've been playing with for a while, so nice to know I can still play cricket, and hopefully a really good confidence boost for me.

"It was nice to spend a bit of time out in the middle again, nice to score some runs, and hopefully it's the start of a really big summer for me."

It was also the ideal preparation as McGrath prepares to fill in as Australia captain in the three-game ODI series against Bangladesh beginning in Brisbane on Friday, with Sophie Molineux sidelined with a hip injury.

That role adds a degree of on-field certainty for McGrath, who when Molineux is fit is co-vice-captain alongside Ashleigh Gardner. She remained a valued leader and voice in the Australian group during the World Cup in England but at the same time, had to reckon with being unable to make a direct impact on the field after dropping out of Australia's best T20I XI earlier this year.

"It was a different sort of role for me, but I loved it," McGrath said of her experience in the UK.

"That World Cup was so fun to be a part of – the cricket we played, the connectiveness of the group, and being on that Lord's balcony holding the trophy at the end was so special, and I'm really grateful to be a part of it.

"I just loved watching and being able to contribute to the group where I could, whether that be in meetings or in training and that."

One difficulty for McGrath in the Australian set-up has been the different role she has been asked to play compared to the top-four role she would naturally occupy in domestic cricket, and where she originally made her impact during her initial golden run for Australia in shortest format between October 2021 and December 2022, when she rose to No.1 in the T20I batting rankings.

The rise of allrounder Annabel Sutherland in ODIs, the emergence of young batters Phoebe Litchfield and Georgia Voll, and the overall strength of Australia's top six means McGrath has more recently found herself deployed in a finishing role.

The 30-year-old does not expect that to change against Bangladesh but is confident the form she displayed last week against Victoria is transferable.

"We've had an unbelievable squad for a while, and that top-order is pretty set," she said.

"As a guess, I'd probably slot in around seven or eight, but I've got absolutely no idea what that batting order is going to look like – we're pretty lucky with the amount of talent that we've got there, and so much batting expertise there.

"Hopefully batting's batting. Hopefully the top-order gets the bulk of the runs, and whether I just come in and pile on as many as possible, or whatever that looks like, at the end of the day it's bat v ball, and I'm feeling pretty good with where my batting's at the moment and where my cricket's at.

"Nothing really changes for me – whatever role I'm presented with, go out there, give it my absolute best, and hopefully find myself in the XI for a good chunk of the summer."

NRMA Insurance Women's ODI Series v Bangladesh

First ODI: Friday, October 9 (D/N)

Second ODI: Sunday, October 11 (D/N)

Third ODI: Wednesday, October 14 (D/N)

* All matches played at Allan Border Field, Brisbane, starting at 1:50pm local

Australia ODI squad: Tahlia McGrath (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham 

Bangladesh ODI squad: Nigar Sultana (c), Nahida Akter, Shorna Akter, Marufa Akter, Rabeya Khan, Ritu Moni, Sobhana Mostary, Sarmin Sultana, Sharmin Akter, Sanjida Akther, Sultana Khatun, Dilara Akter, Farzana Haque, Disha Biswas, Murshida Khatun, Habiba Islam

NRMA Insurance Women's T20 Series v New Zealand

First T20I: Sunday, October 18

Second T20I: Tuesday, October 20

Third T20I: Thursday, October 22

* All matches played at North Sydney Oval starting at 7:15pm AEDT

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

New Zealand T20I squad: Melie Kerr (c), Eden Carson, Flora Devonshire, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis (wk), Bella James, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Nensi Patel, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Izzy Sharp

All women's international matches will be shown live on Seven, 7Plus, Kayo Sports and Foxtel