Megan Schutt’s name was missing from Australia’s opening World Cup XI in Chennai, and the fast-bowler might have to wait a little longer to pull on the yellow shirt. With the second group game against Sri Lanka rained off, Australia have had a rare seven-day break before facing Pakistan in Colombo, and the selectors are again debating the balance of the attack.
Head coach Shelley Nitschke said Schutt handled the initial omission impeccably. “She is obviously the ultimate professional and she took it very well,” Nitschke noted. “We sort of looked at the match-ups and the performances coming in, but certainly I understand that Megan’s got a big role to play for us moving forward. We’ll have another look again at the match-ups and the conditions at Premadasa before we take on Pakistan and see if she’s in that right sort of team to best match up to them to hopefully win.”
Schutt’s past record against Pakistan – 10 wickets in nine one-dayers – is solid, yet she went wicketless in the two most recent meetings back in early 2023. Darcie Brown, the young quick preferred against New Zealand, fared better in Brisbane earlier this year (five wickets across two ODIs) but conceded 52 in four overs on opening night at the World Cup. The staff must now decide whether Brown’s raw pace or Schutt’s new-ball craft suits the slower Colombo surface.
Before the tournament Schutt admitted she wanted to play every match. “I’d like to think my previous performances have kept me in good stead for that,” she said. “Obviously if it doesn’t work out, I will completely understand the balance of the squad and run drinks as best as I can if I’m not in the XI. But ideally I’d love to be out on the field doing what I do with people that I love. I like to think I’ve got pretty good awareness to know if that’s not going happen but ideally, I’d love to play all the games and get right through.”
Spin choices also remain under review. In game one Alana King got the nod over fellow leg-spinner Georgia Wareham, largely because left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux returned to complete a three-pronged slow-bowling unit. Molineux marked her first international appearance since December 2024 with figures of 3 for 25, removing Suzie Bates in her opening over and ending Izzy Gaze’s late surge.
Nitschke praised that comeback but stressed careful management after Molineux’s knee surgery. “To open the bowling first game back and return figures like she did was unbelievable and a credit to her and the work she’s done to get her back to being available to play for us,” she said. “I think her knee is just ongoing management and seeing how it responds to training and games and looking at her availability from there. We’ll make sure that we’re doing the right thing by her and hopefully having her available when we need her.”
If surface and match-ups demand another change, King and Wareham could be competing for a single spot once more. The leg-spinners offer slightly different shapes through the air – King tends to bowl fractionally quicker, Wareham gives it more revs – but only one may partner Molineux and off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner.
Australia sit on three points after the washout, level with Pakistan at the top of Group A. Victory on Thursday would all but confirm a semi-final place, yet selection remains a live issue. Schutt’s swing in humid Colombo evening conditions could tilt the argument her way, though Brown’s ability to hurry batters is hard to ignore. As Nitschke put it earlier in the week, “We’ll pick the side we think wins us the game.”
