Competition for spots in Aussie Ashes XI heats up

Spots in Australia’s one-day international XI will be up for grabs when they meet an England Academy team in two Ashes warm-up matches in Loughborough this week.

Heavy rain scuppered Australia’s hopes of a second outdoor training session at Loughborough University on Tuesday, with the 14-player squad instead forced to train indoors.

But dry weather is predicted for the rest of the week and Australian captain Meg Lanning is hopeful rain will cause no further interruptions to her team’s preparations for the multi-format Ashes, which begin with the opening ODI in Leicester on July 2.

"Ideally we would have been able to get outside, but we had a good session yesterday and a practice game tomorrow, we did a lot of preparation back home so one session indoors won’t hurt us," Lanning said from Loughborough on Tuesday.

"We were expecting this weather yesterday but the rest of the week is hopefully okay and a lighter session today isn’t going to hurt us going into tomorrow."

 

It’s expected Australia will have the flexibility to field more than 11 players in the 50-over warm-up game, where they’ll meet an England Academy team coached by former England captain Charlotte Edwards.

It means all those vying for spots in Australia’s bowling attack will be given a chance to press their case for selection, including young right-arm quick Tayla Vlaeminck, who forced her way into the Ashes touring party after recovering from the partial ACL tear that prematurely ended her summer.

The Bendigo product has only played two matches in Australian colours, but believes she’s bowling faster than ever after time spend building her strength in rehab and Lanning can see the 20-year-old making an impact against England’s powerful batting line-up.

"She’s going to be a big weapon for us, she’s bowling fast and pretty accurately which is great," Lanning said.

"She’s put in a lot of hard work over the off-season. (Her pace) is definitely right up there, (Katherine) Brunt in the English side is pretty quick and (Vlaeminck’s) definitely up there with that pace.

"In our game it’s a weapon to have that extra pace and something different and we feel like Tayla really adds something to our squad so hopefully she can get some confidence up in the next couple of games."

 

With spearhead Megan Schutt and star allrounder Ellyse Perry locks in Australia’s XI, it’s likely Vlaeminck will be jostling for the final pace spot in the bowling attack alongside Nicola Carey and Delissa Kimmince.

England have yet to announce the Academy side who’ll take on Australia on Wednesday, but they’re expected to field a strong group including the likes of England representative and Hobart Hurricanes import Alex Hartley.

"Across the two games we’ve got everyone will get a decent crack at it and be able to adjust to the conditions," Lanning said. "It’s a good opportunity for everyone to get out there and put in a good performance ahead of the (first ODI) next Tuesday.

"In the past the England Academy have put up some good performance and some good players as well. It’s our first chance to really set the scene for this tour and make sure we’re hitting the ground running so it’s a good opportunity for the group."

England, meanwhile, have secured a T20I series win against the West Indies after the third and final match was washed out in Derby.

A 42-run win in the second match of the series was England’s 14^th win in a row across both limited-overs formats, a run that started during their tour of India in March.

"They will be (full of confidence) and that’s fair enough," Lanning said of England. "When you’re winning you’ve got a lot of confidence as an individual and as a team.

"We’re very aware of what they can produce and they’ve been playing some really good cricket over the last 18 months, it’ll be a good challenge for our group and we’re looking forward to it."

England now travel to Loughborough, where their own Ashes preparations will see them take on Australia A – who touched down in the United Kingdom on Tuesday – in a practice match on Saturday.

Australia will meet the England Academy at Loughborough’s Haslegrave Ground on Wednesday from 10.30am local (7.30pm AEST). The 50-over warm-up will be live scored on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app.

CommBank Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

June 26: England Academy v Australia, Loughborough

June 28:  England Academy v Australia, Loughborough

July 2: First ODI, Grace Road, Leicester

July 4: Second ODI, Grace Road, Leicester

July 7:  Third ODI, St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury

July 11-13: England Academy v Australia, Marlborough College, Swindon

July 18-21: Only Test, The County Ground, Taunton

July 26: First T20, County Ground, Chelmsford

July 28: Second T20, The County Ground, Hove

July 31: Third T20, Bristol County Ground, Bristol

A Test victory is worth four points (two each for a draw), two points are awarded for ODI and T20 wins