Women’s World Cup: Australia to take a late call on Healy’s availability for clash against South Africa, says McGrath

Indore, Oct 24 (IANS) Australia will be taking a late call on the availability of regular skipper Alyssa Healy for their final league stage clash against South Africa, to be played at Holkar Stadium on Saturday, said stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath.

Alyssa missed Wednesday’s win over England due to the calf strain sustained during training on October 18. She returned to light training on Friday, offering encouraging signs for her availability as the reigning champions approach the business end of the competition.

“(Healy) is at training today … we haven’t finalised an XI yet, but she’s still a bit of a day-by-day case and we’ll see how that pans out. I really enjoyed (captaining) the England game … I certainly have to listen a bit more in meetings and be a bit more switched on, but I really enjoyed the opportunity to lead and really enjoyed working with Ash (Gardner).”

“She helped me a lot stepping into that vice-captain role and we’re blessed with so much support in the Australian team and with bowlers being so diligent in their plans. So, it’s a seamless transition (but) as much as I enjoyed it, pretty keen for Midge to come back as soon as possible,” Tahlia told reporters on Friday.

With a semi-final berth already secured, Australia may adopt a cautious approach regarding Alyssa’s return, keeping in mind that the semi-finals are scheduled for October 29 and 30 in Guwahati and Navi Mumbai respectively. Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash against South Africa will determine Australia’s final standing at the end of the round-robin stage.

Australia are also continuing to manage left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux’s workload cautiously, with she yet to feature in back-to-back matches following her recovery from knee surgery. If the rotation pattern holds, Molineux could make way for leg-spinner Georgia Wareham in Saturday’s final round-robin fixture against South Africa at the Women’s ODI World Cup.

“Good question – but one for the physios. The most pleasing thing for me is she’s had a huge impact for us in this World Cup. She’s a crucial player and it’s been awesome to see how much of a role she’s played for us with not much cricket leading in.”

“She’s worked extremely hard to be at this World Cup … so whether it’s against South Africa or in the finals, she’s already been a huge player for us and she will be for the rest of the tournament. So, it’s been awesome to see her do so well,” added Tahlia.

–IANS

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