Upside aplenty to Aussies' risky strategy

Former ODI star Mel Jones has hailed Australia's go-big-or-go-home T20I game plan – despite warning it could prove to be their biggest threat come next month's Women's World T20 tournament.

Meg Lanning's team will head into the tournament in the Caribbean as the world's top-ranked T20I team should they claim a 3-0 series win over Pakistan later this month, a potentially apt reward for a year in which they have drastically turned around their 20-over form after several years without a series win in the format.

A new aggressive approach to their batting has seen Australia top-load their batting order with their four biggest hitters, followed by the experience and poise of Lanning, vice-captain Rachael Haynes and allrounder Ellyse Perry.

The logic is simple: go as hard as possible for the first six overs while there are just two fielders outside the circle, and if it doesn't go to plan, the middle-order is there to (hopefully) pick up the pieces.

Jones is an unabashed fan of the new approach, despite its obvious risks.

"Our own game plan might be the first big opponent (at the World T20)," a laughing Jones told cricket.com.au. "But I love it, it's a very high-risk-but-high-reward kind of game plan.

"And we have seen that if it doesn't quite work in the opening power play as (happened) in the first T20 against New Zealand (when Australia fell to 4-45 chasing 165) then we've got the batting smarts in the middle to counteract that."

Tipping the sixth edition of the 20-over World Cup to be the most closely contested yet, Jones believes there are six main contenders out of the 10 teams for four semi-final berths, led by Australia and England.

"England will always be right up there," she said. "No Sarah Taylor is a big loss for them but at the same time, (replacement wicketkeeper) Amy Jones has really stepped up over the last 12 months.

"She's fantastic with the gloves … and she's getting to know her game better with the bat.

"They've got Tammy Beaumont who is in outstanding form at the moment, and they've got experience in there as well, so I think they'll be kicking on the door.

"And then there's just a bunch of other teams – New Zealand, South Africa, India and the West Indies are the others you're looking at.

"I'm a bit biased, it'd be nice to see the Windies get through because you want the hosts getting through to the semi-finals and the whole region getting behind them."

Each team will play just four group matches, with only the top two sides from each group of five to advance, leaving very little room for error – or for the perils of poor weather.

"There's not a lot of wriggle room at all, you can't take any game lightly," Jones said.

"Even net run rate, all those things will come into play.

"They're playing in two completely different weather regions (during the group stage), with Guyana being on the mainland of South America and St Lucia being a fair way north as well.

"There's a triple header in Guyana on day one so even those little things, just managing that whole process will be a test for sides and could be the reason why one team goes through and another doesn't, because they manage all those other factors around the tournament so well."

Australia will play their group matches at Guyana's Providence Stadium, where Jones, who has West Indian heritage via her father, has seen plenty of cricket through her work commentating on the Caribbean Premier League.

Renowned as the lowest and slowest of the Caribbean pitches, Jones says Australia's five days in the region before their opening match against Pakistan on November 9 will be crucial, particularly for the batters.

"It might quicken up a bit because the ICC take over the grounds in the lead-up to the tournament, so hopefully they'll try and put a little pace and bounce in it, but I don't think there'll be a lot," Jones said.

"Chris Green (who played for Guyana in this year's CPL) has been giving me a bit of inside information and he said it takes three to four decent knocks on the training decks (to adequately prepare) because you start to get a decent sense of what you're going to face in the middle.

"So there'll be a lot of training before they play game one."

Australia are currently in Malaysia, where they'll play three ODIs and three T20Is this month before flying directly to the Caribbean for the World T20.

CommBank Tour of Malaysia

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

Australia T20 & World T20 squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen (subject to fitness), Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

Pakistan ODI/T20 squad: Javeria Khan (c), Bibi Nahida, Ayesha Zafar, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Sidra Amin, Omaima Sohail, Nida Rashid, Sidra Nawaz, Sana Mir, Nashra Sundhu, Anum Amin, Natalia Parvaiz, Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Aiman Anwar

October 18: First ODI v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur

October 20: Second ODI v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

October 22: Third ODI v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

October 25: First T20I v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

October 27: Second T20I v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

October 29: Third T20I v Pakistan, Kinrara Academy Oval

2018 ICC Women's World T20  

November 9: Australia v Pakistan, Province Stadium, Guyana

November 11: Australia v Ireland, Province Stadium

November 13: Australia v New Zealand, Province Stadium

November 17: Australia v India, Province Stadium

November 22: Semi-finals, Sir Vivian Richards Ground, Antigua

November 24: Final, Sir Vivian Richards Ground