Australia have announced their squad for the Women's Ashes that is set to commence in June this year. Phoebe Litchfield and Kim Garth have earned call-ups in the squad with the former even in line for Test debut to replace Rachael Haynes who retired in September last year. Litchfield has already played for Australia in T20Is and ODIs making her debut against India and Pakistan respectively in those formats.
As for Garth, she was recently in action in the inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League playing for the Gujarat Giants. She accounted for 11 wickets in seven matches including a stunning five-wicket haul in the first game. She could also make her debut in the longest format to bolster the pace bowling attack depending on conditions on offer at the Trent Bridge where the Test match is set to be played. Notably, the only Test in the multi-format Ashes will be a five-day encounter unlike earlier editions when Tests were played for four days in Women's cricket.
It will be a challenge to go past England in their own den this time around. They have done it previously though having won the Ashes since 2015 and also won the last edition with a 12-4 margin in 2021-22 season. "Following the success of the side at the recent T20 World Cup, the focus now turns to the exciting challenge of retaining the Ashes away from home. We've been fortunate to have a consistent side across all formats over the past couple of years and as a result we have selected a similar group to the squad which won the T20 World Cup in February," national selector Shawn Flegler said.
"Phoebe Litchfield has taken her game to the next level in the past 12 months, we view her as a long-term player for Australia and it's pleasing to reward her progress with selection in an Ashes squad," he added.
Australia Ashes squad: Meg Lanning (capt), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham
Australia A squad: Maitlan Brown, Lauren Cheatle, Maddy Darke, Heather Graham, Nicole Faltum, Tess Flintoff, Charli Knott, Kate Peterson, Courtney Sippel, Tayla Vlaeminck, Courtney Webb, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Tahlia Wilson
