Tahlia McGrath to lead Australia A against India A

Tahlia McGrath, the Australian allrounder, will lead Australia A that will face India A at home in December. It is the first time Australia has hosted an international ‘A’ side.

In a 13-member squad, McGrath has internationals Heather Graham and Belinda Vakarewa (both squads) and Erin Burns and Elyse Villani (both T20I squad) for company. Phoebe Litchfield, the 16-year-old left handed batter, who became the youngest to make a fifty in the Women's Big Bash League, also finds a place.

“For some players this tour will give them
the opportunity to continue to push their case for national selection with
several having already had a taste of international cricket. For others it’s an
opportunity to continue to develop and gain further experience at this level,”
said Shawn Flegler, the national selector.

“The squads have been selected with a
long-term view to the 50-over World Cup in New Zealand in 2021 while also
rewarding those players who have demanded selection through strong domestic
performances.”

Talking about the young Litchfield, he
said, “In her first season of senior cricket Phoebe Litchfield has shown why
she’s so highly rated. For her this tour is a great chance to get a taste of
playing against an international opposition.”

He also lauded Vakarewa’s move from New
South Wales to Tasmania, apart from being pleased with the returns of Bridget
Patterson and Annabel Sutherland.

“Bridget Patterson has been in previous
squads and has gone away and done well in domestic cricket which is great to
see and we’re really happy to see her force her way back. We’re also looking
forward to seeing what Annabel Sutherland can do having missed the ‘A’ tour to
England earlier in the year due to injury.”

“With a T20 World Cup early next year and an ODI World Cup the following year, it’s exciting to see so many talented youngsters coming through the pathway and performing well and this tour is really going to test them against what we expect to be a strong Indian side.”

The teams will play three one day and T20 matches each, with the three 50-over contests to be played at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane starting from December 12. The Bill Pipen Oval in Gold Coast will host the three T20s that follow, the first of which is on December 19.

One-day Squad: Maitlan Brown, Heather Graham, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath (c), Bridget Patterson, Georgia Redmayne, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Rachel Trenaman, Belinda Vakarewa, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Tahlia Wilson.

T20 Squad: Maitlan Brown, Erin Burns, Josie Dooley, Heather Graham, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath (c), Bridget Patterson, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Belinda Vakarewa, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington.