Chirpy Australian wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy will have a new ally in her verbal offensive against England, should Victorian off-spinner Molly Strano be handed her Ashes debut in Friday's T20 at North Sydney Oval.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Strano is one of three changes from the Test squad which drew against the visitors last week, and is determined to prove herself to national selectors, be it with the ball, when she bats or in the field.
Sarah Aley and Delissa Kimmince are the other two who come in for the T20s. Lauren Cheatle will miss at least six weeks with a back injury, while Tahlia McGrath and Nicole Bolton have also been omitted after playing in the Test.
Healy is internationally renowned for her ability to chip away at opposition batters from behind the stumps, and hasn't shied away from the opportunity to do so during a delicately poised Ashes series.
With Australia needing to win just one of the three T20 matches to retain the urn, Strano knows just how important the mental battle will be in deciding the series.
"I'm pretty elite on the sledge to be honest," Strano said. "I'll leave that to Midge [Healy], I'm pretty sure she's the best sledger in Australia but if she does need some back-up vocals, I'm more than happy to chip in."
Strano only arrived in Sydney on Tuesday night, having been told a day earlier that she was back in the Australian frame, nine months after debuting in the green and gold against New Zealand at the MCG.
Her first goal is to help deliver the victory Australia desperately craves to overcome the World Cup winners.
But she also knows this is a rare opportunity to show her worth on the international stage.
In three T20 internationals for her country Strano has impressed, taking seven wickets at an average of nine, but the spin-bowling show window is a crowded space right now in Australia.
Four spinners were taken to the women's World Cup, Jess Jonassen, Kristen Beams, Ashleigh Gardner and Amanda-Jade Wellington, and Australia played three in every match.
Veteran Beams played in one of the Ashes one-dayers but missed the Test, while Gardner was omitted for the Test but comes straight back in for the T20s.
"We're blessed in the Australian set-up to have so many quality spinners of different descriptions, we've got right-arm leggies, left-arm offies, and a couple of right-arm offies as well so there's a great variety there," Strano said.
"It's a hard graft bowling off-spin, most of the time spinning in to the right-hand batter who likes to look at cow corner and likes to clear that person on the boundary.
"You have to keep adding tricks to your game and you can't just be content with plateauing, you've got to keep evolving and try to work out ways to deceive the batters either through the air or off the pitch.
"It's a continuous challenge, the batting has improved out of sight the last couple of years. I'm finding it a lot tougher as a bowler now the way the batting's developed. It is tough but you've got to keep evolving your game. Your game develops quite quickly when you're in this environment."
The 25-year-old Strano is also determined to improve her batting, and has been given a strong opportunity with Victoria at Women's National Cricket League level this summer at number five.
She's also keen to pursue leadership opportunities, a trait Cricket Australia has spotted, and was rewarded last week by captaining a CA XI against England in a three-day tour match at Blacktown.
That game told everything Strano needed to know about the immense challenge still facing the home side if it is to retain the Ashes.
"They're a very strong team, Jenny Gunn came in at eight when we played them in the practice match, and they've got some really strong hitters as well," Strano said.
"[Nat] Sciver and [Heather] Knight batted really well against us, and Sarah Taylor can break your heart as a bowler as well. It'll be tough, a tough assignment, we're all pumped for it, we're all up for it."
