Strano in line for shock recall in World Cup opener

Tayla Vlaeminck’s tournament-ending injury has forced a major re-think for Australia on the eve of their T20 World Cup opener against India in Sydney, with her replacement, off-spinner Molly Strano, every chance to bolt into the playing XI.

Vlaeminck tormented India’s top-order with her sheer pace during the CommBank T20I Tri-Series earlier this month and Australia’s bowling plans were clearly centred around the using the 21-year-old right-armer to unsettle the likes of Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues and Harmanpreet Kaur.

"It's a massive loss and (Tayla) is obviously pretty shattered with the timing of it," Australia captain Meg Lanning told reporters on Thursday. "She was set for a big role for us, I'm pretty devastated for her."

But in Strano, Australia have another Victorian with an outstanding recent record against India.

Lanning admitted it could be enough to tempt the selectors into a ‘Moneyball'-type call when settling on their final XI.

Strano has picked up the key wicket of hard-hitting India opener Verma five times in their last seven meetings, five times while playing for Australia A against India A in December and once more playing in the Governor-General’s XI game against the senior Indian squad last month.

"There's no real like-for-like replacement for Tay, no one does what she does," Lanning said.

"(But) Molly has bowled well in the power play in the past and can bowl at any time through the innings.

"She's definitely in contention to play tomorrow, as everyone is.

"She does have a good record against Verma (and) it’s something we will be thinking about."

If Strano did bolt from being outside the Australian squad to being named in the playing XI in the space of two days, it would be an extraordinary change in fortunes for the 27-year-old who has not played for her country since November 2017.

But Australia have a plethora of bowling options at their disposal for the match at Sydney Showground Stadium.

Spearhead Megan Schutt and left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen are locks for the XI, alongside allrounders Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner.

In the pace department, Annabel Sutherland looms as a potential replacement for Vlaeminck, offering more speed than other contenders Delissa Kimmince and Nicola Carey.

Other spin options alongside Strano include left-armer Sophie Molineux, leg-spinner Georgia Wareham and off-spinner Erin Burns.

Molineux missed the tri-series final and Australia’s warm-up match against South Africa due to a corked thigh and while Lanning said the allrounder was fit, the 21-year-old was performing a fitness test at the conclusion of Thursday’s training session.

Burns is likewise said to be available, but has yet to play a competitive match since undergoing minor knee surgery last month.

"There is no one the same as Tay, so we will have to slightly tweak how we go about it, but generally our plans are pretty flexible," Lanning said.

"We don't feel like it is too much of a disadvantage to us.

"We will just have to have a good look at the wicket and decide what we think will be the best combination, and a lot of that will be down to match-ups."

While Vlaeminck was ruled out on Wednesday, she remained with the squad at Thursday’s training session.

After what Lanning described as a ‘flat’ day for the team in the wake of the news, the Australia players and staff spent Wednesday evening together, sharing dinner at the Opera House before a special guest, Australia legend and three-time ODI World Cup winner Adam Gilchrist, addressed the team.

"That was something we wanted to do," said Lanning of the team bonding session.

"At a home World Cup you can sometimes go in different directions at times, so to share a moment ahead of what will be an exciting and very memorable few weeks (was important).

"To take a moment and do it together as a group – that’s the biggest thing, sticking together.

"There’ll be highs and lows, as there will be for every team, but we’ve got each other’s backs and that’s the most important thing."

2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup

Australia squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Erin Burns, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy (wk), Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham

February 21:Australia v India, Sydney Showgrounds

February 24: Australia v Sri Lanka, WACA Ground

February 27: Australia v Bangladesh, Manuka Oval 

March 2: Australia v New Zealand, Junction Oval

March 5: Semi-final 1 & Semi-final 2, SCG

March 8: Final, MCG

For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE

* All matches will be broadcast on Fox Cricket and Kayo, while Australia's matches will also be broadcast on the Nine Network