‌WT20 WC 2024 | Jonassen axed as Australia announce squad with a surprise addition

Australia have shown consistency in their squad by selecting a similar group of players that traveled to Bangladesh for the T20I series recently. Following Meg Lanning’s retirement from International cricket, Phoebe Litchfield will be participating in her maiden ICC event. While Jess Jonassen has been left out of the squad despite impressive performance, Tayla Vlaeminck is an exciting addition to watch out for.

"Phoebe Litchfield is a real x-factor for us and will be well supported by an experienced group at her first World Cup," he added. "The pace duo of Tayla Vlaeminck and Darcie Brown is one we've been wanting to unleash for a while and is a real point of difference for us,” said Shawn Fleger, Cricket Australia’s Head of Performance (Women’s Cricket) and National Selector.

Kown to click 120 kph consistently, Vlaeminck suffered a stress injury in the lead-up to the 2022 ODI World Cup before making a comeback against Bangladesh recently. Although she returned to participate in the 2023 Women’s Big Bash League, a shoulder injury dented her hopes of representing the Men in Yellow. 

On the contrary, Jonassen’s exclusion raises questions about Cricket Australia’s selection criterion. Having picked up 24 scalps in the WBBL, she was the tournament’s second-highest wicket-taker and followed it up by becoming the joint third-highest wicket-taker in the 2024 Women’s Premier League. Moreover, the strips in UAE are likely to assist the spinners as the tournament progresses.

"Jess Jonassen is again unlucky to miss out, but we've been impressed with the way she's bounced back, and we'll continue to monitor her form ahead of the home summer."

Apart from this, Sophie Molineux has been summoned after being excluded from the previous edition while Heather Graham, who is a part of the upcoming New Zealand series at home, has been left out of the marquee competition.

Australia squad for Women’s T20 World Cup 2024: Alyssa Healy (C), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath (VC), Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Tayla Vlaeminck