Mandhana, Mooney reflect on ODI series learnings as World Cup countdown begins

New Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS) With India and Australia wrapping up a hard-fought ODI series decider at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, everyone’s attention will now go towards putting their best foot forward in the World Cup starting in less than ten days’.

With Australia clinching the series 2–1, Smriti Mandhana and Beth Mooney took out some time to reflect on the learnings both sides will take from playing three ODI games in seven days.

Smriti, India's vice-captain, pointed to fielding as an area India have to work really hard at leading into the World Cup. India were sloppy in their fielding in the series, dropping 15 catches and making plenty of misfields. It was a total below-par show in fielding for India, who were impressive in this department during the white-ball series wins in England.

“Firstly, in this series, for us, it was about getting a lot of right combinations and things which we thought that, of course, Australia is a great opposition to test ourselves in terms of where we are lacking. It was a good series in terms of understanding our strengths and where we are lacking. There's a lot of difference (between the teams) in the fielding.

“Fielding part is one thing which as a team we are on a rise but we also feel there are days where we look like a (good) fielding side and there are days where we don't. That's about how we find the consistency in the team in terms of fielding as a unit and not individual brilliance, but fielding together as a team,” she said at the conclusion of Saturday’s game, which India lost by 43 runs.

According to Smriti, who hit a blazing 63-ball 125 in third ODI, the most encouraging takeaway for India from the series was the “willingness” displayed by the younger players to learn, adapt, and grow. "The series was not like it was going to make us believe that we'll win the World Cup. That belief is always there.”

“This series is just for us in terms of understanding what is going right and what's going wrong because Australia is the best opposition to test it out (against). We've had a great 12 months at home but we did not play Australia at home in the last 12 months.

“(We have taken) a lot of positives, a lot of things in terms of what we want to work on. As long as that willingness to work hard is there, I feel the battle will be won. I see that a lot in the girls - that willingness to win, the willingness to learn and the willingness to grow. It's a young team but the will level is very high," she said.

With India set to play across all five venues during the World Cup, Smriti further stressed on the need for tactical flexibility in the competition. “We wouldn't really want to reveal what the combination is going to be because of course, World Cup is still 8 or 10 days away. But I wouldn't say that we will have one particular combination. It would also depend a lot on the wicket and the conditions which we will play on.

“So, I wouldn't say that going into the World Cup, especially one day World Cups are long, you can't say that this is my eleven and I am going to pick this eleven. We are going to be very flexible with the conditions and because as I said, I mean, we have got a great squad of 15 and everyone looks very ready to play. So, depending on how the conditions will be, we will pick our eleven,” she said.

On the other hand, Mooney, who played a starring role Australia’s series win with a match-winning 138 in the third ODI, praised her team’s ability to quickly adapt to Indian conditions. “I just think the way we've played across the series has been really impressive from the get-go. We haven't spent a lot of time in India in the last 12 months as a group.

“Obviously a few of us have been playing in the WPL, so picking up little things about the conditions has been huge. Then learning off each other in the way that we want to play. Phoebe (Litchfield) and I chat a lot about batting being left-handers and I know the other top order right-handed batters chat a lot too.

“So just trying to share as much information and intel as we can heading into that World Cup and then adjust where we can along the way. That'll be a big one for this group, in making sure we can be agile as the tournament goes on," said Mooney.

With Phoebe (low-grade quad strain), Annabel Sutherland (hip soreness) and Darcie Brown (back spasms) not playing last two games, their recovery ahead of World Cup is another top priority for Australia. “So when they get their opportunity back in their side once they're fit and firing, I think there's absolutely no ceiling for this group. I think we can really put a marker out there for this World Cup,” she said.

Mooney also acknowledged the rising competitiveness in women’s ODI cricket after Australia won 2022 World Cup, especially after surviving a big scare in Saturday’s game. “I think every game is going to be pretty tough to be honest. There's no easy games anymore in international cricket and a lot of teams have spent the last three and a half years working hard towards this World Cup.

“So from my point of view and the rest of the team, we don't take any teams lightly anymore. It's a tough world out there in international cricket and you've got to get it right when you show up.”

With spin expected to play a major role in the tournament, Australia have been preparing accordingly, with Beth stating their strength lies in versatility. “We knew coming into this series and into the World Cup that we were going to come up against a lot of spin - left-arm, right-arm, leg spin, off-spin. So we spent a lot of time in the pre-season working on our intent with that and understanding what our options are against those particular bowlers.

“They may look different for everyone, so I think that's the beauty of our batting line-up is we can all hit the ball to different areas and I think that's a real strength of our team is understanding each other's game and our own game against particular bowlers and making sure we can open the game up as quickly as we can, sort of like we did here.”

With the series wrapped up, both teams are headed to Bengaluru, where they will focus on recovery, before going their separate ways in warm-up games and the World Cup.

“We haven't played a lot of 50-over cricket in the last eight months, so I think it's been a bit of a shock to the system to run, but we've got a few days off in Bengaluru.

“I think there's a few golfers heading out to play golf that won't include me. But, just a really good opportunity to spend some time together, get out and do some different stuff, and get away from the game for a few days before it gets hectic again,” concluded Mooney.

--IANS

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