Women’s T20 WC: Litchfield, Gardner out as Australia elect to bowl against Bangladesh

Leeds, June 17 (IANS) Australia won the toss and elected to bowl first against Bangladesh in the 9th match of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Headingley on Wednesday. Australia have been dealt a blow as Ashleigh Gardner is out of the match due to injury, while Phoebe Litchfield is also missing the match due to a quad injury.

Australia are coming to the contest after registering a dominant 65-run win over South Africa. The six-time champions relied exclusively on spin to dominate at Old Trafford, fielding Sophie Molineux, Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham and Alana King together. With Leeds expected to be less favourable for slow bowlers, experienced pacer Megan Schutt is firmly in contention to bolster the attack.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, have little reason to alter a winning formula. They opened their campaign with a controlled six-wicket victory over the Netherlands, with debutant opener Juairiya Ferdous laying the platform through a fluent fifty before Sharmin Akter Supta finished the chase.

Past meetings also point towards Australian dominance. They comfortably defeated Bangladesh in Canberra during the 2020 edition after Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney combined for a century opening stand. In 2023, Georgia Wareham’s three-wicket haul restricted Bangladesh to 107 before Meg Lanning anchored a straightforward chase with an unbeaten 48.

After winning the toss, Australia skipper Sophie Molineux said, “We’ll have a bowl. Just having a look at the pitch, it’s a little bit soft on top. Hopefully we’ll get the best of it with our seamers. Outfield looks a lot faster. Beautiful ground, never been here before. Two changes, Phoebe Litchfield and Ash Gardner are out. Just a couple of injuries. Poor Ash had a bit of a fall. Sprained ankle, will be fine for next game.”

After losing the toss, Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana said, “Really wanted to bat first, wanted to give the batting unit the freedom. It’s all about the mindset. Have the belief that if we can execute our plans, we have a chance. For a long time we have been concerned about our top order. We found someone who can go after the bowlers (Ferdous). We’re introducing off-spinners as they have three left-handers.”

Playing XIs

Bangladesh: Dilara Akter, Juairiya Ferdous, Nigar Sultana (wk/c), Sobhana Mostary, Sharmin Akhter, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Nahida Akter, Rabeya Khan, Sultana Khatun, Marufa Akter

Australia: Beth Mooney(wk), Georgia Voll, Ellyse Perry, Grace Harris, Georgia Wareham, Annabel Sutherland, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux(c), Alana King, Kim Garth, Megan Schutt

–IANS

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