Mooney joins the race as battle for top spot beckons

Australia batter Beth Mooney is putting her hand up to open in next week’s one-off women’s Ashes Test, but knows she’s got plenty of competition for a spot at the top of the order.

Mooney opened alongside Nicole Bolton in Australia’s most recent Test match – in Sydney in late 2017– but the scarcity of red-ball cricket in the women’s game, played just once every two years as part of the multi-format Ashes, means selectors must go back to the drawing board on each occasion to determine their best XI.

"I’d love to do it, (but) we have some world-class players in our side who could open and only two of us can do it, so we’ll see what happens," Mooney said on Tuesday.

"They’ll have an idea of who they want up there, but I think we’ll make sure whoever it is will do a great job."

Bolton, who has opened in Australia’s last two Tests and who is a staple at the top of the one-day order, seems likely to remain in that position.

But who will accompany her remains a mystery – one that should become clearer when Australia meet the England Academy in a three-day warm-up match in Marlborough starting Thursday.

Key contenders alongside Mooney are Bolton’s fellow one-day opener Alyssa Healy, although Australia may be reluctant to hand her the pressure of both opening and wicketkeeping in a multi-day game, and vice-captain Rachael Haynes, who was elevated to the top of the order in Bolton’s absence from the ODI team earlier this year. 

Preparing for a format played so rarely is a challenge, but Mooney believes Australia’s positive, attacking approach to limited-overs cricket will be maintained in the longest form of the game, albeit with a somewhat tempered approach.

"It’s nice to have a warm-up game, but in terms (of switching from) one-day cricket to Test cricket we won’t change a whole lot," Mooney said.

"We obviously play a really attacking brand of cricket naturally, so we won’t shy away too much from that.

"But everyone is looking forward to batting some time and bowling some time to take some wickets, it’s an exciting time for us."

The Australian squad had their first red-ball hit-out at the exclusive Marlborough College on Tuesday.

The picturesque Wiltshire school, whose alumni include Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, is also the venue for the upcoming three-day practice match.

"Everyone is ready to get out and about in a beautiful school," Mooney said. "The grounds are really nice and the buildings are really old school, everyone is looking forward to training here for a few days and then the warm-up game.

"Everyone is calm, relaxed (but also) excited, we don’t play many Test matches and we’d like to play a few more, so we know we’ve got a job to know in making sure it’s of high quality."

Live scores from the match will be available on cricket.com.au and the CA Live App, alongside all the latest news and highlights from the ground.

CommBank Ashes Tour of England

Australia lead England 6-0

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

England ODI squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Jenny Gunn, Amy Jones, Laura Marsh, Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danni Wyatt 

July 2: Australia won by two wickets

July 4: Australia won by four wickets

July 7:  Australia won by 194 runs

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