'Tinkering' required in Aussie quest for T20 perfection

Australia’s women will continue searching for the perfect T20 formula when they meet Sri Lanka in a whirlwind limited-overs series on home soil starting later this month.

The T20 World Cup, to be played in Australia next February and March, is drawing ever closer and with that in mind, Australia coach Matthew Mott has warned there’ll be some ‘tinkering’ in the three 20-over matches against their subcontinent rivals.

But fresh off an undefeated campaign in the Caribbean – which included wins by six, nine and nine wickets in the three T20Is - it’s not the personnel he’ll be looking to make changes to, rather the way in which they are employed.

"We’ve still got some tinkering to do," Mott said following the final T20I in Barbados.

"We’ll tinker a bit in the T20s against Sri Lanka with that batting order and make sure we get the right formula with a big year heading into the T20 World Cup.

"I’m really happy with the way the bowing unit is going.

"There’s been some great changes there, even seeing Megan Schutt trying new things like coming around the wicket to the left-handers, stuff like that, is fantastic.

"Our batting got better each game, our first chase wasn’t our best but the last two we did it in style."

Australia were rarely under pressure during their three ODIs and three T20Is in Antigua and Barbados, playing an injury-ravaged West Indian team that, by the time the final match at Kensington Oval rolled around on Wednesday, was without six of their best XI.

Focusing hard on their own performances and tactics – and holding each other to account – was key as Australia continually look for ways to improve their own game, Mott said.

"To be able to still be fresh and have energy at the end of this tour has been a real test.

"But they all hold each other to account and when we review our matches, it’ not so much about the opposition but about what we can control.

"So if we’d slackened off (in the last T20) the review would reflect that, but everyone was up and about and we’re pretty happy with the performance."

Australia’s squads for the T20Is and the three ODIs that will follow will be named next Wednesday, with few, if any, surprises expected.

"It’ll be pretty close to what we’ve got here, the main changes will be in batting orders and stuff like that," Mott said.

"We’ve got a strong nucleus of players here who we’ve earmarked to take into the World Cup.

"There’s a WNCL round which is a good opportunity for other players to put their hand up and show what they can do, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be staying close to this 14."

Absent from the Caribbean tour was Victorian allrounder Sophie Molineux, who is continuing her recovery from shoulder surgery.

After going under the knife in early March, Molineux made her initial comeback midway through the Ashes in England in July, but with her shoulder still on the mend she sat out the Caribbean series to focus on complete rehabilitation.

"We’ve had good reports from Soph, she’s going well," Mott said. "She’s probably still a couple of weeks’ away yet but she’s ticking a lot of boxes and starting to get back into the swing of cricket things.

"We’ve been really cautious with her, we didn’t want to rush her especially with a World Cup coming up."

Another player missing from the Windies tour was ODI opener Nicole Bolton, who made herself unavailable for selection for the series to focus on her mental health.

It remains to be seen whether she will be available to play Sri Lanka, but the Western Australian returned to the field on Saturday in the opening round of the 50-over Women’s National Cricket League.

"Bolts and I have been in touch via WhatsApp and she’s in a really good frame of mind and looking forward to the first round of the WNCL," Mott said.

"For her it’s just about reentering and getting back into the swing of things and hopefully scoring some runs, but she seems really happy which is great."

The T20I and ODI squads for the Sri Lanka series will be named on September 25, ahead of the first T20 at North Sydney Oval on Sunday September 29.