Live Update: Australia women’s cricketers want more games in peak summer They are concerned the national team are at risk of being out of sight and out of mind, stunting momentum after another T20 World Cup win The three who matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins The three who matter: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all smiles after dismissing Pat Cummins, India vs Australia, World Cup, Chennai, October 8, 2023 The smile of a champion – Mohammed Siraj picked up five wickets in a ten-ball period, India vs Sri Lanka, Asia Cup final, Colombo, September 17, 2023 Alyssa Healy poses with the trophy after Australia retained the Ashes, England vs Australia, 3rd ODI, Women’s Ashes, Taunton, July 18, 2023 The standards by which Harmanpreet Kaur was eventually judged was reflective of what she had helped create as ctain Harmanpreet Kaur walks off the field after India’s big win against Netherlands, India Women vs Netherlands Women, T20 World Cup 2026, Leeds, June 17, 2026 Mandhana, who has been part of the side since 2013, has previously led India in 18 T20Is and four ODIs Smriti Mandhana looks on in the field, India vs South Africa, Women’s World Cup final, Navi Mumbai, November 2, 2025 Ind vs Zim – Niki Prasad, Jintimani Kalita and Nandani Sharma the new faces in Smriti Mandhana-led white-ball sides Shafali Verma has been elevated to the vice-ctaincy of the T20I side, while Dee Sharma will do the job in the ODI side for the games against Zimbabwe India U-19 ctain Niki Prasad is all smiles, India vs South Africa, Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup warm-ups, Malaysia, January 15, 2025 Harmanpreet Kaur ctained India to back-to-back Asian Games gold medal, India vs Sri Lanka, Asian Games women’s competition final, Nisshin, September 22, 2026 Everyone thought he was a late-order hitter and an occasional bowler.
West Indies – and India too – found out in the first T20I that Naman Dhir is a match-winning offspinner too Naman Dhir picked up two key wickets on debut, India vs West Indies, 1st T20I, Lucknow, October 6, 2026 Shreyas Iyer hammered a 42-ball century to help India over the line, India vs West Indies, 1st T20I, Lucknow, October 6, 2026 Tanmay Baloda picked up eight wickets in the second Australia Under-19 innings to set up a target of just 11, which India Under-19 knocked off in just five balls India Under-19 star Lakshya Raichandani has scored prolifically over the past year, moving from one format to the other without a pause, seemingly without any problems Lakshya Raichandani tonned up in the second innings, Sri Lanka Under-19 vs India Under-19, 2nd Youth Test, 3rd day, Colombo, July 22, 2026 Rajat Patidar scored a valiant fifty in India A’s chase of 275 but they slid to a 125-run defeat in the first unofficial ODI Nathan McSweeney hits through the off side, India A vs Australia A, 1st one-dayer, Puducherry, October 6, 2026 Priyansh Arya is in India A’s squad to face the visiting Australia A side for three one-dayers, and trusts his high-risk-high-reward game to give him the results Priyansh Arya plays down the ground, Sri Lanka A vs India A, 1st match, One-day tri-series, Dambulla, June 9, 2026 Scott will feature in the one-day series against India A after his exploits in the Big Bash League and recent unofficial Test series in Puducherry After years of setbacks and self-imposed pressure, a new outlook has given Renshaw the balance to embrace an unexpected three-format international comeback For the players coming into the Australia side after Sandpergate, it was bittersweet, but also a dream come true The Australian team during the national anthems, South Africa v Australia, 4th Test, Johannesburg, 1st day, March 30, 2018 Cameron Green reacts after copping a blow while batting, South Africa vs Australia, 3rd ODI, Potchefstroom, September 30, 2026 The ghosts of Sandpergate still hang over the rivals as Australia make it back to the country for the first Test tour since 2018 Temba Bavuma and Pat Cummins, the two ctains, wait to walk out with their players, Australia vs South Africa, World Test Championship final, Lord’s, June 11, 2025 Varun Chakravarthy is also back for India after missing the Asian Games, while Ravi Bishnoi has been left out Bhuvneshwar Kumar ran through Mumbai Indians’ top order, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Mumbai Indians, IPL, Raipur, May 10, 2026 Dhruv Jurel has been named the ctain of the side, while Rishabh Pant has been picked but his participation will be subject to fitness Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul had a job to do after being in the field for close to two days, India vs South Africa, 2nd Test, Guwahati, 2nd day, November 23, 2025 Rishabh Pant is back at Delhi Citals from Lucknow Super Giants, and Yuvraj Singh is expected to join the franchise as batting coach Tanmay Baloda picked up eight wickets in the second Australia Under-19 innings to set up a target of just 11, which India Under-19 knocked off in just five balls Australia lifted the Women’s T20 World Cup for the seventh time, England vs Australia, T20 World Cup final, Lord’s, London, July 5, 2026 Senior women’s players have called on Cricket Australia (CA) to push to return some of their games to the peak of summer, fearing the current schedule will hurt the sport’s growth among girls. Australia begin their home summer against Bangladesh on Friday , marking the first of three ODIs in Brisbane before three T20s against New Zealand in Sydney. All three of the Sydney matches fall on school nights.
Then, Australia will then not play on home soil until they host New Zealand for ODIs in March, in what looms as a sign of things to come for the world’s No.1-ranked team. Under the current ICC schedule, there will be no WBBL or international women’s cricket during the school holidays in Australia for at least the next three years. “We don’t want to be the sport that falls behind because we’re just getting it wrong,” veteran wicketkeeper-bat Beth Mooney told A.
“We’re just pushing it uphill, because we’re in a bad timeslot and it’s a bad time of year for parents. They’re not dragging their kid out to watch a 7pm T20 on a Tuesday night or whatever it is. That’s going to stop girls getting into the game, because parents aren’t going to take them.” Mooney’s comments come after Australia’s most-cped player Ellyse Perry expressed similar concerns earlier last month.
Australian players have for a long time had some frustrations over the schedule, particularly around the same consistency in men’s cricket. This summer has been impacted by the ICC moving the inaugural Champions’ Trophy from its original June-July slot to February. But multiple players have also expressed concerns to A over India being able to claim the January window for its lucrative WPL, fearing it will only expand into a larger window.
This year it runs January 14 to February 7. They are concerned the national team are at risk of being out of sight and out of mind, stunting momentum after another T20 World Cup win. One push is for more home matches to be scheduled in December around the Christmas window, with Australia to tour Sri Lanka through that period this year.
“We’re not getting crowds, it’s not marketed well. There is no big-ticket item where people go ‘the Australian women’s team play here [at this time] every year’,” Mooney said. “We want to be relatable athletes.
And if we’re not front and centre of the summer it makes it pretty difficult when it’s meant to be a summer sport. We don’t need to compete with the men. They play the day-night Test at some point.
We can have T20s before that. Or we can play night T20s when there is a men’s Test on.” Australia’s coach Shelley Nitschke said it was “obviously dispointing” not to play at home in December or January, while ctain Sophie Molineux argued home games in December would be “really special” for her team. “It would also help see fans come through,” Molineux said.
“I completely understand that the schedules are getting bigger and busier.” They are concerned the national team are at risk of being out of sight and out of mind, stunting momentum after another T20 World Cup win Australia lifted the Women’s T20 World Cup for the seventh time, England vs Australia, T20 World Cup final, Lord’s, London, July 5, 2026 They are concerned the national team are at risk of being out of sight and out of mind, stunting momentum after another T20 World Cup win They are concerned the national team are at risk of being out of sight and out of mind, stunting momentum after another T20 World Cup win
