Molineux’s foot injury hasn’t healed in time as Australia pick two legspinners in Wellington and Alana King in their 15-strong World Cup squad
“Sophie Molineux, unfortunately, misses out due to injury,” Flegler said. “She was unlikely to be available until the backend of the tournament and with limited match time and having to complete ten days managed isolation, it was a tough call, but we weren’t prepared to take the risk.
“Amanda-Jade provides us with another quality spin option and has the potential to play an important role spinning the ball away from the bat. Leg-spin has been a big part of our success in recent years and while Alana King is currently doing that role for us, there’s no reason we couldn’t play both in the same team if conditions and match-ups suit.”
“Grace didn’t get much of a go in the recent T20s, but she brings the versatility to bat anywhere in the top or middle order and her bowling could also be a real asset throughout the tournament as we’ve seen orthodox spinners have a lot of success in New Zealand,” Flegler said.
Australia women’s World Cup squad: Darcie Brown, Nic Carey, Ash Gardner, Grace Harris, Rachael Haynes (vc), Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Meg Lanning (c), Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Amanda-Jade Wellington
Alex Malcolm is an Associate Editor at ESPNcricinfo