With Australia women have started their preparations for the upcoming clash against New Zealand in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 on October 08, the Aussies bowler Sophie Molineux has stated that the side must sharpen their side to secure victory in the tournament.
Australia started their campaign with a comfortable victory against Sri Lanka which put Australia second on the Group A points table behind White Ferns.
Meanwhile, the White Ferns have secured a 58-run victory against India which gave a hand in net run rate from the start of the tournament.
Despite their win, the reigning champions Australia have openings in their fielding which they need to improve as they dropped a catch and a stumping against Sri Lanka.
Although it did not affect the match outcomes, Australia should improve their fielding skills against the likes of Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr.
“We probably could be a bit cleaner in the field,” Molineux said. “(Sharjah Cricket Stadium) definitely was a different field to what we played on back in Australia, a slower (outfield) and bigger.
“We can definitely go up a notch in the field. Even our bowling, I think we could tighten up bits and pieces there too.
“So, there’s definitely still things to improve on, but it was a good start.” Australia beat New Zealand 2-0 on home soil last month, but Molineux feels that trans-Tasman rival would pose a different challenge in Sharjah.
With both sides one step away from booking their spots in the semi-finals, the clash will be a huge one between the rivals.
“It won’t be too dissimilar to how we approach every game, and that’s to come out with intensity,” Molineux said.
“The conditions will obviously be very different to when we played them back in Australia so again, it’s about adapting.
“They’ve had a really good win, so they’re going to come in on a high but hopefully we can carry on our momentum as well.”
The clash will be Australia’s first official night game of the tournament. So far, Dew has not made a significant feature of night games across the first four day, but Molineux said Australia would be prepared if it did make an appearance.
“Dew definitely could be a factor, and I think we’ve taken that into account, especially over the last couple of weeks in Brisbane and Mackay, there was a bit of dew up there.
“That was good preparation. (Practising) catching under lights, all the little things like that, I feel like we’ve been able to tick that off in our preparation too … and hopefully it’s a bit cooler at night.”
The clash between Australian and New Zealand women will be played on October 08 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
