New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS) Australia vice-captain Tahlia McGrath stated the upcoming three-match ODI series against India, starting on Sunday in New Chandigarh, will be pivotal in reacquainting themselves with subcontinental conditions and set the tone for their Women’s ODI World Cup title defence.

Australia have not played international cricket since their T20I tour of New Zealand in March, while their last ODI assignment came during the multi-format Ashes in January. With no Indian players taking part in The Hundred, a tournament that featured several Australians, the ODIs against Harmanpreet Kaur’s side will be significant for the visitors’ to rediscover their rhythm and cohesion as a collective ahead of the marquee event.

“We always have really good hard-fought battles against India and we haven’t played them for a while. The thing I’m most looking forward to in these three ODIs against India is we haven’t played together as a side since late March.”

“So as much as we’ve been training together and playing in the Hundred, it’s going to be nice to get together as a team again, playing in some foreign conditions that we haven’t played in and just get used to these Indian conditions.”

“So you couldn’t ask for a better preparation for a World Cup with us being in the country, playing against a world-class side like India, and just spending some time together again. Because like I said, it’s been a while since we’ve been together as a group. So I’m looking forward to kicking off our World Cup campaign with these ODIs,” said Tahlia to IANS in a virtual interaction.

While many of her World Cup teammates were busy in The Hundred, Tahlia featured in three one-dayers for Australia A against India A in Brisbane in August, alongside skipper Alyssa Healy, and pace duo of Darcie Brown, and Kim Garth.

Choosing to skip the UK tournament in favour of a stint at home in Adelaide, Tahlia stated her focus was on undertaking a rigorous fitness block and role-specific skill work to fine-tune her preparation for the World Cup.

“It’s been really nice prep. We had a very big fitness block which hasn’t been fun, but we’re in really good nick for everyone to cope with seven weeks in India. So everyone’s in really good shape heading in. We’ve done the work and then from a skills perspective, bowling-wise, I feel as though I’ve operated throughout the middle a fair bit.”

“So I’ve just tried to add a few things if required at the death or at certain stages so that no matter what scenario is thrown up, I’ve got some options. With the bat, I’ve been a little bit more specific on scoring early in my innings and keeping the momentum going.”

“That shift to lower down the order, I need to start my innings a little bit quicker and I’m often batting with a batter that’s set and flying. So keeping that momentum going and not having any stolen momentum throughout the game – it’s been nice to be deliberate with my training.”

“I have had a bit of a chunk at home to work on that and then got to do the Australia ‘A’ series and put a little bit of that into the game. So I’m sick of training now – I’m ready to play some games in India and pull the Aussie shirt on again,” she elaborated.

Since earning a recall to the ODI team in 2021, Tahlia had largely occupied the number five spot. But the start of the 2024/25 home season saw her shift to number seven, with Annabel Sutherland and Ashleigh Gardner coming ahead of her.

Tahlia remarked that she had embraced the demands of her reshaped role in the batting line-up, which is evident from her hitting an unbeaten 20 off 12 balls in Australia’s record 371/8 against India in Brisbane last year or making 55 off 45 balls in the third Ashes ODI in Hobart, taking Australia from a wobbly 154/5 to a match-winning 308/8.

“We’ve got so many batters in our side, but it’s hard to squeeze us all in. So some of the players have moved up the order or were demanding to go up and I’ve absolutely taken those opportunities. Myself sliding down to number seven presents a slightly different role.”

“For me, it’s how can I do that to the best of my ability and how can I do my best job to help the team? So a lot of the times, it’s scoring really quickly when there’s less time to start your innings and keep the momentum going. So that’s really important to me – in doing my part for the team and whatever’s required in certain different situations,” she concluded.

–IANS

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