Tahlia McGrath Ignored, Australia Select This All-Rounder as New Captain

Australia women's cricket team is set to have a new captain after Alyssa Healy announced her retirement from international cricket. Healy, who has served Australian cricket for a long time, is all set to retire after the home series against India.

As a result, Cricket Australia (CA) has announced the team's new captain in the form of Sophie Molineux. The left-handed all-rounder made her debut in March 2018 and has played three Tests, 17 ODIs and 38 T20I matches for Australia.

Despite having minimal experience so far, the board is set to hand over the team's responsibility to the 28-year-old cricketer. It is a big moment for the all-rounder as she will be leading the best women's cricket team in the world.

Sophie Molineux Set to Be Australia Women's New Captain

Molineux is all set to take the charge of Australian women's team across formats. Reports suggest that the leadership shift from Alyssa Healy to Sophie Molineux will happen soon. Healy, one of the best women cricketers ever, announced her retirement earlier this month. She will arguably go down as one of the best cricketers coming out of the country.

Sophie Molineux has played under several skippers, starting from Meg Lanning. She has been a part of the great Australian team that lifted the 2018 and 2020 T20 World Cups in West Indies and home, respectively. While she was sidelined from the team in 2022 after battling a stress fracture in the foot but managed to make her way back into the team.

The decision to announce Molineux as Australia women new captain was surprising because Tahlia McGrath was originally the vice-captain of the team and was expected to take over the leadership role. However, due to her poor performance recently, she might have been sidelined by the board. In the Women's World Cup 2025, she scored just 55 runs in four innings.

Sophie Molineux's Comeback from Injury

Molineux has been in an incredible form ever since she has made her comeback into the team. Overall, in 17 ODI matches, she has picked up 31 wickets at a miserly average of 17. If we look at her T20I stats, she has taken 41 wickets in 38 games at an average 18.68. Apart from her bowling, she is also a capable contributor with the bat.

In domestic cricket, she made her comeback in 2024 where she led Melbourne Renegades to their maiden title in WBBL and it might be the reason behind her selection as the next Australia women cricket team captain. She picked up 16 wickets that season.

Moreover, she also claimed 12 wickets in the WPL and emerged as the highest wicket-taker, while helping Royal Challengers Bengaluru Women win the tournament. After having a wonderful run, she suffered another injury and was subsequently ruled out of the Ashes and WPL 2025.