Alana King has been given her first Cricket Australia contract after left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux was dropped from the list after an injured season as an integral part of the ODI World Cup.
Alana Maria King is a woman cricketer from Australia who plays for Western Australia in the Women’s National Cricket League and the Perth Scorchers in the Women’s Big Bash League. She is an all-rounder and bowls right-arm leg-spin and bats right-handed. The player has previously played for Victoria and Melbourne Stars in BBL.
She made her international debut in the multi-format Ashes in replacement of the injured Georgia Wareham. She has since been featured in every match – improving her contract at the time – and was Australia’s second-highest wicket-taker at 24.50, taking 3 for 3 in the final against England at 64 in the World Cup.
All-rounder Molineux, who has been capped 38 times in all formats has paved the way for King’s inclusion in the Ashes and World Cup due to the strain on her feet. Wareham (ACL) and pacer TaylaVlaeminck (foot), both were knocked out of the World Cup, have maintained their contracts.
In this process of finalizing the player in terms of the contract, the national selector,
Shawn Flegler said,
“Sophie Molineux is unfortunate to miss out on a contract, she’s been an important part of the side over the last couple of years.”
Further, he said that
“Unfortunately, she’s missed a large amount of cricket due to various injuries, but we feel she can continue to play an important role with a more consistent run of matches. We’ll continue to work with Sophie and have full confidence in her finding her way back into the squad.”
“Georgia Wareham and Tayla Vlaeminck retain their contracts which enables us to continue to support them on their return to play after suffering long-term injuries. Both are progressing well in their rehab, and we look forward to seeing them in action at some stage during the summer,”
He added
King has performed in WBBL and in Ashes tournaments. She first played for Melbourne Stars and then for Perth Scorchers.
Flegler said
“Alana King came into the side during the Ashes and hasn’t missed a beat, she produced match-winning performances across all three formats and thoroughly deserves her spot on the list,”
“We’ve had a core group of players performing well over the last 12 months which means some talented players have missed out, it’s certainly made selection tough but we’re in a fortunate position to have such depth across Australian cricket.”
He continued
“Players such as Stella Campbell, Amanda-Jade Wellington, and Grace Harris have all played for Australia and contributed to the team’s success recently, and along with Sophie, have the chance to earn upgrades with consistent performances”.
The contract list will sustain the World Cup-winning squad and will remain together for at least another year. Captain Meg Lanning and coach Matthew Mott had already cleared that they did not force the players to get retire in the near future.
In addition to this, the players who are not awarded the contracts can earn upgrades throughout the year by accruing 12 points. Female players receive four points for a Test match, two for an ODI, and two for a T20I.
The list of players who made a contract with Australia involves the following players.
Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Meg Lanning, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, TaylaVlaeminck, Georgia Wareham.
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