Australia’s T20 World Cup bandwagon has moved from Paarl to Gqeberha, where the defending champions take on Bangladesh in their second fixture in Group 1 on Tuesday evening.
Australia made a perfect start when they beat New Zealand by 97 runs in their opening match on Saturday but the Aussies have faced Bangladesh only once in T20Is.
On that occasion, during the group stage of Australia’s title-winning 2020 T20 World Cup campaign, they inflicted an 86-run defeat on Bangladesh in Canberra.
At the 2022 ODI World Cup in New Zealand, though, a resolute Bangladesh attack reduced Australia to 5 for 95 in slightly overcast conditions before the eventual champions rode Beth Mooney’s unbeaten fifty to clinch victory.
Asked what kind of threat Bangladesh, who are coming off a defeat to Sri Lanka, might pose, Australia head coach Shelley Nitschke said: “We certainly don’t take them lightly. And we know how skilful they are.
(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
“So, their slightly off-pace spin and skill with the ball is something that we’re very wary of. We know that they’re an improving team.
“They challenged us at the ODI World Cup, so we certainly will be making sure that we’re ticking all the boxes tomorrow night.”
Judging by Bangladesh’s performance on Sunday, Marufa Akter, 18, could be especially threatening with the new ball.
Against Sri Lanka, the right-arm medium-pacer returned figures of 3 for 23 from her four overs, including a maiden, with all her wickets coming in the powerplay.
“I did see her bowling,” Nitschke said. “She bowls very nicely. She was certainly someone that we’ve spoken about today and I’m sure that the batters will have a bit of a look at and think about their plans to her.
“You know there’s a number of players, but she was fantastic last night, so we certainly need to be on the lookout for her when she gets the ball in hand.”
The entire Australian squad toiled hard in the nets during a training session lasting nearly two-and-a-half hours at St George’s Park on Monday, against the backdrop of the inaugural Women’s Premier League auction.
Australia have not played in Gqeberha before, but Nitschke felt their solitary practice session in the city before the match had given the tournament favourites with a decent grasp on the conditions.
“It looks like a really nice facility and a few of the girls had a feel and it looks like a great oval to field on,” she said.
“I think we’re presented with some good conditions and a great facility again, which is really good to see.”
Between Wednesday and Saturday, Australia play their three remaining group fixtures before the knockouts begin in Cape Town.
Bearing in mind the crammed schedule, Nitschke underlined the importance of balancing skills training and getting adequate rest.
“We have got a pretty tight turnaround between the next three games,” she said.
“So it’s important that we make sure that we are switching on and showing up every game. And then, in between those games, make sure that we top up on our skills but also take the time to rest and reset for the next one.”
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