Melbourne, Sep 5 Australia’s left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux said she is confident in her different way of preparing and making a direct return to international action in the upcoming Women’s ODI World Cup.
On Friday, Sophie was named in Australia’s 15-player squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. But she’s unlikely to feature in the preceding three-match ODI series against India, starting from September 14. The left-arm spinner has been in recovery from the knee surgery she underwent in January.
"It's probably a little bit complicated, the knee at the moment, just coming off the back of an ACL and then having to have another surgery on top of that. We were aiming to play some games before that World Cup, but the way it's panned out is I'll probably get into it at the World Cup .... no (better) way to rip a Band-Aid off than that.
"Traditionally, I'd bowl and bowl and bowl, and feel really confident and comfortable through bowling a heap of overs each week and playing games at cricket, (but) it's not the case now. So I think I've been able to tap into some different things to prepare for a World Cup and to perform, hopefully, straight away," Sophie was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au on Friday.
Australia will take on New Zealand in the first game of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2025 on October 1 at Holkar Stadium in Indore. Since her ODI debut in 2018, Sophie has played 13 games and taken 23 wickets at an average of 14.39 and an economy rate of 3.29.
After missing Australia’s 2022 ODI World Cup triumph due to a stress fracture in her right foot, Sophie stated she is looking forward to playing in what is her first 50-over World Cup.
"I think knowing about two months ago that this was going to be the case, I spent a bit of time wrapping my head around it and probably tapping into different parts of my game, especially, in preparation. I've (also) changed a couple of little things with my action, not too dramatic, but I've spent a lot of time up here in Brisbane, working with Shell Nitschke.”
"The cherry of a World Cup is definitely something big, I've never been to a one-day World Cup, so the sound of that was always chiming in the back of my head throughout the winter. But I think it's (also) just about getting back and feeling good out on the cricket field again, no matter what colours I’m in," she added.
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