A good question from Ian Harkin on Twitter: India have a strong looking team as well - most notably Richa Ghosh, the 17-year-old wicketkeeper who will be looking to make her mark with both the bat and the gloves. Poonam Yadav is another one we’ll be looking out for - she was devastating for India in that opening game of the T20 World Cup last year. She absolutely destroyed the Australian batters with her looping deliveries. She wasn’t as effective in the final, but she’ll be looking to replicate that first game effort today. Toss - Australia to bowl first It’s a nice, balanced looking XI for Australia today - they have the express pace of Brown, some spin from Molineux and Wareham, Darlington’s death bowling prowess and of course the magic Perry brings, along with all-rounders Gardener and McGrath. It looks like a good decision from Lanning to bowl first and get these players into the action ASAP. India XI Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj (c), Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Poonam Yadav Australia XI Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy (wk), Meg Lanning (c), Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Hannah Darlington, Darcie Brown Ooh, some very exciting news today with Hannah Darlington making her debut! The 19-year-old was a star for the champion Sydney Thunder side in the WBBL last year, with some sensational death bowling, so it will be very interesting to see what she can deliver here. As a self-confessed Hannah Darlington diehard fangirl, I’m delighted to be able to be talk about her in her debut today. Preamble It’s cricket season!! Can you believe it? After months of dreary football we’re finally ready for the delight that can only be brought to us through the magical sound of leather on willow. It’s going to be a huge summer of cricket for the Australian women - starting with this multi-format series against India, followed by the WBBL, a home Ashes series and then over to New Zealand to try to win back the 50-over World Cup after a disappointing semi-final loss all the way back in 2017. But first to this series against India. It seems an age has passed since the two teams met in the T20 World Cup final at the MCG in March 2020 in the last big sporting event before Covid changed the world. India will still be feeling the pain of that loss after beating Australia so comprehensively in the opening match of the tournament. With Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen out of this series, it will be the ideal time for India to try to claw back some ascendancy and strike against a slightly less experienced Australian team. Of course I say slightly because there is still truckloads of experience in there. Meg Lanning, Rachael Haynes, Ash Gardener, Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy are obviously highly seasoned competitors, but there is also some exciting up-and-coming talent in the team as well. The young bowling trio of Stella Campbell, Hannah Darlington and Darcie Brown will be looking to make their mark on this series and have the potential to be highly dangerous if unleashed at the right time. There’s lots to talk about today and I can’t wait to get started!