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Standout Aussie A players push World Cup cases

Strong performances with bat and ball have left the Australian selectors with some tough calls to make ahead of the T20 World Cup

Australia A coach Leah Poulton is predicting tough conversations ahead for the national selectors when they sit down to finalise their 15-player T20 World Cup squad next month.

World No.1 Australia will attempt to defend their 2018 title on home soil next February and March and while it is unlikely much will change for the core group who have won 23 out of 26 T20Is in the past two years, a larger-than-usual tournament squad will offer opportunities.

National coach Matthew Mott has suggested as many as three spots could be up for grabs.

World Cup hopefuls were given a chance to audition in three 20-over games between Australia A and India A last week, and Poulton believes a host of strong performances in the 3-0 series sweep will give selectors plenty of food for thought.

"I think it's going to be really tough (to select the squad), to be honest, and that's a really good thing for Australian cricket," CA high performance coach Poulton told cricket.com.au.

"There's any number of people they could select to make up that 15.

"Maybe in years gone by, they would have been looking at two or three people but honestly this year will be probably six or seven people who they'll be (choosing between) to fill those extra spots … I think it's going to be really tight."

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The clear standout across all six limited-overs matches was Victorian off-spinner Molly Strano, who took seven wickets at 13.14 in the one-dayers and five at 6.6 in the T20s.

An abundance of spin-bowling talent in the Australian ranks, including allrounders Jess Jonassen, Ashleigh Gardner and Sophie Molineux alongside leg-spinner Georgia Wareham, means Strano has not played for Australia since the 2017 Ashes despite being the all-time leading wicket taker in the Rebel WBBL.

"They'll definitely speak about Molly, it'd be hard not to," Poulton said.

"She's been so dominant in the WBBL in the last couple of years and in this series, she showed she's very versatile with the ball.

"She can bowl up front in the power play, she can bowl tight overs through the middle and for a spinner, she can also finish an innings as well.

"Her versatility is a real asset."

Dropped Australian batter Elyse Villani was given a chance to impress in the 20-over games after missing recent series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka, with Australia likely to include a back-up specialist batter for the World Cup.

The Victorian started the series with a swashbuckling 62no from 36 deliveries and while she missed out in the second, dismissed for 10, she ended the series strongly with a 56-ball 70.

"Elyse Villani was excellent at the top of the order," Poulton said.

"She's an outstanding player and has such great power at the top, if she bats for 20 or 30 balls she can really take the game away.

"It's always tough to be dropped … it can be really challenging mentally, but she's been really good for us."

Image Id: E7F29C004EB4420F93B155CBBDCCAA8E Image Caption: Elyse Villani and Heather Graham // Getty

Poulton was particularly impressed by 18-year-old Annabel Sutherland, who hit a 50-over half-century and picked up nine wickets across the six matches.

Selecting an uncapped teenager for a World Cup would be a gamble for the national selectors, but the Australia A mentor believes it is only a matter of time before the pace-bowling allrounder is wearing the green and gold.

"Based on how she performed in this series and in the WBBL, I don't think she's far off," Poulton said.

"It's always tempting to have someone new in a World Cup because the opposition won't know much about them, and we always try and say it doesn't matter how old you are, if you're good enough you should be playing.

"So whether or not she gets selected, I don't know, but I think her name would be spoken about at that selection meeting."

Another pace bowler who made a solid case for an international return was Belinda Vakarewa, who came into the series fresh off a brilliant WBBL campaign for the Hurricanes, which saw her finish the tournament's top quick with 20 wickets at 15.8.

The 21-year-old did not dominate the wickets tally in the same fashion for Australia A taking just five wickets across both formats, but placed plenty of pressure on the India A batters with her economical bowling in the power play.

"(Vakarewa) is probably having the summer of her life with the ball, she had a really good WBBL and she kept that going," Poulton said.

"I think that's a real strength of Australian cricket at the moment, a few years ago our pace stocks were really hit by injury and they were a bit thin, but it's been great the last 18 months, our pace stocks are really healthy which is a great position to be in."

Image Id: 39EE29FF171F4D24919B41B4B1440D03 Image Caption: Erin Burns struck a 55-ball hundred // Getty

Another frontrunner for the Australian T20 squad is incumbent member Erin Burns, who managed a top score of just 13 in her two 20-over innings but smacked a stunning 55-ball century in the second one-dayer.

"It was one of those days were pretty much everything she did worked, so it was pretty special," Poulton said of Burns' 107 from 59 deliveries at Allan Border Field.

The senior Aussie women's side will next be in action for a T20 tri-series against India and England in early February, their final tune up before their World Cup opener on February 21.