Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Tahlia McGrath is relieved to be back among the runs as she prepares to take the reins for Australia’s ODI series against Bangladesh.
The three-match series kicks off in Brisbane on Friday, with allrounder McGrath to skipper the Australian side as Sophie Molineux recovers from a hip injury.
McGrath carried the drinks during Australia’s successful T20 World Cup campaign, despite serving as joint national vice-captain with Ashleigh Gardner.
McGrath returns to the fold for the Bangladesh series after smashing 154 off 137 deliveries for South Australia against Victoria in the Women’s National Cricket League season opener on September 29.
“It was a relief to score runs because I haven’t really contributed to teams I’ve been playing with for a while,” the 30-year-old told reporters at Allan Border Field on Thursday.
“Nice to know I can still play cricket, and hopefully a really good confidence boost for me.”
The Australian women’s side has not played since lifting the T20 World Cup trophy at Lord’s in July.
McGrath said she had made a few “minor tweaks” to her technique in the off-season, along with a change of mindset.
“It’s sometimes really hard to find your groove and find that confidence,” she said.
“For me, it was stripping it right back to basics, what am I good at, homing in on that and just getting a bit of confidence.
“That knock for South Australia has done me a world of good and I’m feeling in a really good place at the moment.”
In a squad featuring Georgia Voll, Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney and Gardner, McGrath doesn’t expect her domestic century to earn her an elevation up the batting order.
“That top order’s pretty set,” she said.
“As a guess, I’d probably slot in around seven or eight, but I’ve got absolutely no idea what the batting order is going to look like.
“We’re pretty lucky with the amount of talent that we’ve got there, and there’s so much batting expertise.”
Neither Australia nor Bangladesh has played an ODI series since April.
The Tigers have not beaten Australia in any of their 11 limited-overs clashes.
But under new coach David Hemp, Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana Joty believes they can surprise any team.
“They (Australia) are the best side, we all know that,” Joty said.
“We have to be very positive … and we will definitely play our A-game against them.”
The Bangladesh women will be looking to emulate their country’s men’s team, who upset Australia in Darwin in August in the first of two Top End Test matches.
