Australia announce squad for U19 Women's T20 World Cup

AUSTRALIA: Australia named a 15-player squad for the next month's ICC U19 Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa. A handful of talented Australians, who recently finished their Under 19 national championships in Perth, have been selected to compete in the inaugural Under 19 event next month.

Former international quick Sarah Aley will be supported by assistants Erin Osborne and Dulip Samaraweera in a strong coaching department for the tournament, which will take place from January 14 to 29. Australia picked an experienced 15-player squad for the competition on Tuesday.

Up to eight members of the Australian team have played domestic cricket before, and it is anticipated that important batter Claire Moore and spinners Ella Hayward and Amy Smith would be able to carry over their strong state performances to the South African competition.

"The Under 19 World Cup provides players with an exceptional development opportunity, and we look forward to watching our team on the world stage. Our squad has several players who have experienced professional cricket environments, but the final selection for the World Cup was based on overall performances across a variety of competitions. Inevitably, there were difficult selection decisions, but we will continue to support and monitor the development of all players in our pathway systems," Cricket Australia's Head of Women's Performance Shawn Flegler said in an official statement.

Australia are drawn in Group A alongside Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the USA and will require a top-three finish in their group to progress to the Super Six stage of the tournament.

Australia squad: Chloe Ainsworth, Jade Allen, Charis Bekker, Paris Bowdler, Maggie Clark, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Ella Hayward, Milly Illingworth, Eleanor Larosa, Rhys McKenna, Claire Moore, Kate Pelle, Amy Smith, Ella Wilson. Non-travelling reserves: Paris Hall, Samira Dimeglio, Sara Kennedy, Olivia Henry and Ananaya Sharma.