Boundless teenage speedster Lucy Hamilton is set to make an international debut in Sunday’s third and final one-day international in Hobart, as Australia consider changes to their XI following a cruel run of injuries.
Australia lead the points-based multi-format series 6-4 following Friday night’s dominant win at Bellerive Oval, and if they sweep the 50-over stage on Sunday, they will officially retain the India-Australia series trophy ahead of the Test in Perth.
Left-arm quick Hamilton, who joined the ODI squad following quad injuries to Kim Garth and Ellyse Perry, has been training with the Australians in Hobart and is strengthening for his Test debut next week.
During Friday’s ODI he spent a long spell bowling in the Bellerive Oval nets and has been steadily increasing his load to prepare for multi-day cricket in recent weeks.
Speaking to Channel Seven during Friday’s match, Australian coach Shawn Flegler confirmed that the 19-year-old would also be considered for the third ODI.
“That’s one of the opportunities for us,” he said. “We’ll see how things go today (in the second ODI)…hopefully we’ll get another win, and that will give us a chance to take a look at Luce possibly in the third game.”
“Lucy came for the ODIs and that is an opportunity for her to be in the team a little bit earlier than originally planned.
“We’ll see how it goes today and maybe Sunday will also have a chance.
“We are looking forward to seeing what he can do within this Australian team. I think he has a great feature ahead of him.”
The same field is expected to be used for Sunday’s game, and an aging surface could also put Georgia Wareham in the selection frame.
Local bowling all-rounder Nicola Carey entered the XI on Friday following Sophie Molineux’s series-ending back injury and picked up a wicket in her first ODI appearance since 2022, but was Australia’s most expensive bowler with 1-55 from her eight. overs.
Australia could also consider managing speedster Darcie Brown ahead of the day-night Test in Perth, where the quick has played all five matches so far.
“The wicket has played very well so far, maybe it stays a little lower on Sunday if we play on the same wicket, it might turn a little more,” Flegler said.
“We’ve also got Georgia Wareham eager to get a chance…we’ve got a couple of options there.”
Australia is also expected to add at least one player to its squad for the day-night Test.
Australia Test Team: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
While they are optimistic that Perry could feature in the match as a specialist batsman, Flegler admitted on Friday that Garth was unlikely to recover in time for the four-day game, which could open up a spot for another quick to be added to the team.
Australia will arrive in Perth on Monday, with three days to rest, recover and prepare for the opening day at the WACA Ground next Friday.
“We’ll work on that over the next 24 to 48 hours, but we’ll certainly have to bring someone in,” Flegler said.
NRMA Insurance Australia v India Multi-Format Series
Australia leads multi-format series 6-4
First T20I: India won by 21 runs (DLS)
Second T20I: Australia won by 19 runs
Third T20I: India won by 17 runs
Australia ODI Team: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India ODI Team: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Renuka Thakur, Sree Charani, Vaishnavi Sharma, Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Kashvee Gautam, Amanjot Kaur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Uma Chetry, Harleen Deol, Pratika Rawal
February 24: Australia won by six wickets
February 27: Australia won by five wickets
March 1: Third ODI, Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 2:50 pm AEDT
Australia Test Team: Alyssa Healy (c), Sophie Molineux (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India Test Team: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma, Renuka Singh, Sneh Rana, Amanjot Kaur, Uma Chetry, Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Kranti Gaud, Vaishnavi Sharma, Sayali Satghare
March 6-9: Test match, WACA Ground, 4:20 pm AEDT (D/N)