Alana King’s first outing of the tour was straight to the point: 3 for 14 and the big scalps of Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin. Australia still won comfortably, yet the immediate talking-point after the St Vincent match was selection, not the margin.
King had been overlooked for the India series in January, the panel stressing that Georgia Wareham was their preferred leg-spinner. Now, a few months out from the T20 World Cup in England, that stance looks less certain. Captain Sophie Molineux turned to King inside the powerplay; Wareham, valued for her control, did not get the ball until the seventh change. It felt like a quiet shift in the pecking order, even if no-one will say so publicly.
“I’ve said this before, but they [the selectors] have given me some feedback a few years ago when I took it to my stride and got some great exposure at the Perth Scorchers and they’ve helped me become a three-phase bowler,” King said afterwards. “So, no doubt the selectors know what I can do and I think the team knows what I can do. It’s always nice to contribute to good wins and playing a real versatile role. I’m trying not to be just a middle over bowler, especially in the T20.”
King’s international T20 career has never quite settled. Between appearances she lost almost two full years, then returned last season to collect six wickets in five matches against England and New Zealand. Small sample, true, but since the start of 2025 only one Australian has a better strike-rate. The numbers argue for her; the make-up of the XI might not.
With Molineux fit again—she missed last year’s fixtures with a back problem—the left-armer joins Wareham and finger-spinner Jess Jonassen as near-certainties. Four spinners played in St Vincent, although Molineux, carefully managed, never bowled. Replicating that in English conditions, where an extra seamer and the long boundary can both be handy, feels optimistic.
“I’d love to [see four spinners], but I don’t think that’s going to be the case with the T20 World Cup,” King acknowledged. “I think it’s all going to be conditions-based and we’ll wait and see, but any chance that I can get the ball in my hand, I’m absolutely stoked.”
There is, in short, a squeeze coming. King accepts it. “I can only control what I can control and when given that opportunity I’m glad that I can take it. Hopefully I keep getting those opportunities and putting my hand up, but I’ll focus on this series at the moment before we look forward to the World Cup.”
The current trip leaves little breathing space: three T20Is packed into six days, then straight to St Kitts for three one-dayers. By the end of next week Australia’s think-tank will know more about their spinning stocks. Whether clarity arrives—or another welcome headache—depends on how often King gets the ball, and what she does with it.
