Australia captain Sophie Molineux has declared herself fit for opening T20I against New Zealand at North Sydney Oval after overcoming a hip injury. However, No.3 batter Phoebe Litchfield still remains in doubt.
Molineux missed the three ODIs against Bangladesh with a hip injury she picked up following her return from The Hundred. She was left out of Victoria’s squad for the opening round of the Women’s National Cricket League last month.
"I'm ready to go," Molineux was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Friday. "It was pretty unfortunate timing in terms of getting back from The Hundred and having to miss out on those games against Bangladesh, but I'm really excited to get back out there on Sunday."
Litchfield, meanwhile, sustained a low-grade hip muscle strain and missed the third and final ODI against Bangladesh at Allan Border Field on Wednesday. The 23-year-old left-hander picked up the injury during her innings of 71 in Sunday’s second ODI.
With Australia facing a quick turnaround ahead of the first T20I against New Zealand on Sunday, Litchfield’s fitness will remain a concern for the team management, but Australia will be reluctant to take risks with the No.3 batter.
"Phoebe's tracking OK ... unsure (if she'll play) just yet, we'll just keep an eye on her over the next couple of days," Molineux added.
Left-arm quick Lucy Hamilton, who missed the Bangladesh ODis with a quad niggle, is also in the frame for a return after playing for the Governor-General's XI on Thursday evening.
"It was great to see Luce getting back out there last night," Molineux said. "She bowled fast, and she'll only get better with more time out in the middle. "I think it's always a tricky (selection) conversation because of the depth of our squad, and we've really prided ourselves on having 14 or 15 really strong players putting their hand up for each game, so there's going to be some hard conversations and some trickier decisions to make."
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Article Source: IANS