Aussies square off in 'fierce' intra-squad showdown

It’s the great Australian sporting rivalry you’ve probably never heard of.

Friendships are (temporarily) cast aside, battle lines are drawn.

It’s teammate versus teammate, coach versus coach - and it’s all on the line.

The Australian women’s cricket team are a fiercely competitive group, and it is no different when they find themselves lining up against each other.

In recent years, intra-squad matches within the national side have taken on a new edge, with touring parties split into two groups – the Dolphins and the Sharks (formerly known as the Seals before undergoing a re-branding following an extended winless period).

"We split the team in two and off we went one time a couple of years ago," Australian wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy explained.

"The Dolphins were highly successful early on and we made sure we created a really good team culture and we have a team song.

"We were well ahead, but of late the Sharks have been very successful, they’ve found something within themselves."

Players are assigned a team when first called into the Australian squad and while the make-up of the touring parties at times necessitates trades – much to the chagrin of the players involved – the rivalry has taken on a life of its own.

A new level was added last year when Australia head coach Matthew Mott had caps made for the respective teams.

"They’re probably the ugliest piece of equipment we own, I refuse to wear mine because it purely doesn’t fit on my head," Healy laughed.

Trademark celebrations have been created, team songs penned.

On Sunday, the latest chapter in this several-years-old rivalry was penned as Australia ramped up their preparations for their upcoming ODI series against the West Indies in the Caribbean.

On one side, the Dolphins VII (rounded out to XI with the help of local players) was made up of Lanning, Alyssa Healy, Ashleigh Gardner, Nicola Carey, Delissa Kimmince, Georgia Wareham and Tayla Vlaeminck.

Image Id: 787548D0966544ADA5523D443E49AF4F Image Caption: Meg Lanning's Dolphins celebrate a wicket during Australia's intra-squad match \\ Cricket Network

On the other side, the Sharks VII saw Haynes joined by Erin Burns, Heather Graham, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Jess Jonassen and Megan Schutt.

The groups had travelled to the ground in separate buses – under Mott’s instruction – with the sides led into their latest showdown by Dolphins skipper Meg Lanning and Sharks leader Rachael Haynes.

Then, allrounders Burns and Graham became the latest pair inducted into the Shark family on the outfield of Antigua’s Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

"I had an emotional ceremony from Rachael Haynes, she kind of berated me for just going up and getting my hat and putting it on my head before we started," Burns laughed. "But it was good to be part of the Sharks."

Jokes aside, it’s the ultra-competitive nature of the intra-squad contests that serve to better prepare the Australian squad for the real thing, Healy believes.

"It’s actually really competitive cricket," Healy said.

"The most competitive games you play are the derbies in the WNCL and the WBBL or intra-squad fixtures we have here.

"It’s a great way to warm up and get familiar with the conditions.

"Getting acclimatised is never easy and we’re facing some of the world’s best bowlers out there and the best batters, so it’s always a good fixture."

It’s a sentiment echoed by Mott, who believes the on-going nature of the rivalry adds spice to tour preparations.

"It is super competitive, there are jokes to a point and then they get a bit narky with each other," Mott said.

"Ever since we started this concept it’s been fiercely contested and I think it’s exactly what we needed at this point of the trip.

"We’ve travelled a long way to get here and we’ve had a couple of good sessions but there’s a bit of tiredness and it got everyone up and about."

The Sharks romped to victory in Sunday’s first hit-out, a 30-over-a-side affair.

But the afternoon’s second 15-over-a-side clash brought a much tighter result, with the Dolphins striking back to claim a final-ball victory.

So who was the overall victor?

"Well we won the last game, so it’s us," Healy said.

Australia will meet the West Indies in the first one-day international in Antigua on Thursday at 2pm local time (4am Friday AEST).

CommBank Tour of the West Indies

One-Day Internationals*
*ICC Women's Championship matches

September 5: First ODI, Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua

September 8: Second ODI, Sir Viv Richards Ground, Antigua

September 11: Third ODI, Sir Viv Richards Ground, Antigua

Twenty20 Internationals

September 14: First T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados

September 16: Second T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados

September 18: Third T20I, Kensington Oval, Barbados