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Women's T20 World Cup, AUS-W Vs NZ-W: Grace Harris Replaces Darcie Brown As Australia Opt To Bat; Check Playing XIs

Australia Women to bat first vs NZ-W [Source: @@AusWomenCricket/X]Australia Women to bat first vs NZ-W [Source: @@AusWomenCricket/X]

In a significant development, Australia Women have won the toss and elected to bat first against New Zealand Women in their second group-stage match of the ongoing T20 World Cup. The Aussies have made one change to their playing XI from the last game, replacing Darcie Brown with explosive finisher Grace Harris. 

During the toss, Australian skipper Alyssa Healy reckoned that they would bat, considering the Sharjah track's nature. 

"We are gonna have a bat tonight. I think the tournament has shown that it's tough to chase. Little bit different in Sharjah. There is a little more grass on the surface. We can take some advantage of it. One change. Grace Harris comes in place of Darcie Brown. Just a like-to-like replacement for us. Getting an impact player in place of another impact player."

Sophie Devine Explains The Reason Behind Big Change In NZ Lineup

Meanwhile, New Zealand Women's captain Sophie Devine stated that they would've batted first as well. She also explained the White Ferns' decision to replace Jess Kerr with Fran Jonas, as the latter can exploit Sharjah's spin-friendly conditions. 

"We would have liked to had a bat here as well. Everyone knows that the surface here gets a little bit tired but really happy to bowl first and restrict Australia to a low total," she said. 

"Look, its a World Cup, everyone starts from the scratch so yes we did have a good tour against Australia but this is a one off game so we are looking forward to this one. Yeah we have just 1 change, Fran Jonas comes in place of Jess Kerr. Obviously, spin is going to be more effective tonight so we want to utilise Fran's skills in the powerplay," she added. 

AUS-W Vs NZ-W: Playing XIs

Australia Women: Alyssa Healy (c & wk), Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Georgia Wareham, Grace Harris, Annabel Sutherland, Sophie Molineux, Megan Schutt

New Zealand Women: Suzie Bates, Georgia Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, Sophie Devine (c), Brooke Halliday, Isabella Gaze (wk), Maddy Green, Rosemary Mair, Lea Tahuhu, Eden Carson, Fran Jonas