Cardiff, June 7 (IANS) Australia opener Beth Mooney has backed her partner at the top Georgia Voll to justify her credentials as the world’s top-ranked T20I batter when she makes her maiden appearance in a Women’s T20 World Cup when the tournament begins in England and Wales on June 12.

Georgia, 22, climbed to the summit of the ICC Women’s T20I batting rankings earlier this year after a string of commanding knocks, including hitting her maiden century against the West Indies in March. With the legendary Alyssa Healy retiring earlier this year, Georgia is set to partner with Beth as Australia attempt to add a record seventh Women’s T20 World Cup title.

“She (Voll) has put a marker out there to other teams with the way she’s been playing her cricket in the past 12-18 months, so I am really excited to see her take her opportunity at the top of the order. She played a lot of cricket before she made her debut for Australia.

“She played for Queensland and Brisbane at a pretty young age, so I think that’s given her a lot of confidence going into international cricket, and she’s got real clarity on her game and her role as well. She’s a real talent, she hits the ball nice and hard, she picks up length really well, so she’ll be a real threat for us for sure,” Beth was quoted as saying by ICC on Sunday.

Australia will play warm-up matches against England and the West Indies before opening their campaign against South Africa in Manchester on June 13. Beth also admitted it would feel unusual for her to walk out without Alyssa but expressed confidence in forging a strong partnership with Georgia.

“For me personally, walking out with someone different in a T20 World Cup is going to be a little bit weird, but fortunately, ‘Volly’ and I have a pretty cool relationship as well. Hopefully we can replicate some of the cool things that ‘Midge’ (Healy) and I did at the top of the order in T20 World Cups and create our own story there … open the batting for Australia in big games, and have a lot of fun doing it,” she added.

–IANS

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