Following the India series, the left-arm spinner recurrence knee soreness again.
Sophie Molineux has been ruled out of the women’s ODI tour of New Zealand due to a knee injury, adding to Australia’s injury concerns ahead of the Ashes.
Australia was already concerned about captain Alyssa Healy’s health and her ailing knee, but Molineux’s injury added to their worries on Saturday.
The finger-spinner has been dealing with knee concerns this summer, missing three WBBL games with the Melbourne Renegades to manage joint pain.
She took part in the final two games in Australia’s 3-0 series sweep of India, but she was sore after the final triumph in Perth on Wednesday.
It means she will miss all three ODIs against New Zealand this month, with bowling allrounder Heather Graham filling in four weeks before the Ashes.
The matches are also the team’s final before the multi-format Ashes series next month, in which Australia hopes to win the trophy for the seventh consecutive year.
A release from Cricket Australia stated, “Sophie Molineux has been withdrawn from the NZ Series due to knee soreness,” “Heather Graham will join the squad in New Zealand on Tuesday, following Tasmania’s Women’s National Cricket League matches against New South Wales in Hobart.”
After missing the final two matches against India, Georgia Wareham is the most likely player to be included in Australia’s starting lineup for Thursday’s opening ODI against New Zealand.The good news for Australia is that Healy is confirmed to go to New Zealand. Following a foot injury that kept her out of the final T20 World Cup, Australia’s skipper missed the three ODI matches against India due to a personal knee problem.
Selectors may have a difficult time choosing Healy because of Georgia Voll’s strong start to her international career versus India.
After Healy’s historic WBBL victory with the Sydney Thunder, Voll filled in at the top of the order, scoring 46 not out, 101, and 26.However, Healy is anticipated to return to opening alongside Phoebe Litchfield, putting Voll at risk of being left off the ODI squad in New Zealand.
Voll would only be able to stay in the first-choice XI if the selectors decided to bravely leave out a more seasoned player and bat her lower in the order.
