Test cricket returns to the WACA for the first time in seven years this week, with the Australian women’s team facing South Africa for a four-day contest that gets underway on Thursday.
The iconic Perth venue has not hosted Test cricket since the 2017/18 Ashes, while the national women’s side hasn’t played there since 2014, a 61-run loss to England where all-rounder Ellyse Perry claimed eight wickets and top-scored in both innings.
Australia has never previously faced the Proteas in red-ball cricket, while South Africa has only played one Test in the past nine years, a rain-affected draw against England in 2022 when veteran all-rounder Marizanne Kapp scored 150.
Every member of Australia’s 14-player squad has prior Test experience, while South Africa has six capped players among its touring party. Meanwhile, Proteas captain Laura Wolvaardt will lead her country in the Test arena for the first time this week.
“It’s obviously difficult playing a Test match without playing much domestic red-ball stuff,” Wolvaardt told reporters in Sydney last week.
“I love Test cricket – it’s the purest form of the game and something that I think would suit my game as well and that I haven’t really gotten the chance to play a lot of.
“I’m personally very, very excited for it and hope to play more of it in the future.”
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The one-off Test will wrap up Australia’s multi-format series against the Proteas, which the hosts currently lead 8-4 after winning four of the six white-ball contests. However, South Africa will draw the series if they win the historic Test, which is worth four points.
“I really like the multi-format series … I think they work really well,” Australian coach Shelley Nitschke told reporters last week.
“They present some challenges in preparation, but that’s part of it, both teams go through it.”
Australia has played two Tests over the past eight months, an 89-run victory over England at Trent Bridge and an eight-wicket loss to India at Wankehde Stadium.
Nitschke confessed switching between the formats was proving a challenge for the Australians, particularly when red-ball contests remain a rarity for the players.
“It’s actually a really difficult one when we don’t play a lot of Tests,” Nitschke said.
“When we went to England, we spent a lot of time focusing on the red-ball format and done really well in the Test match over there, but then didn’t quite hit our straps in the white ball, and we were out of season at that point.
“I think we’re learning each time.
“Every time we play a Test, we’re learning, and learning to be able to flick to another format is hopefully becoming easier to do.
“But I think there is still a challenge when you’re going across three formats with pretty much the same squad.”
Victorian spinner Sophie Molineux returns to the Australian squad for the first time since October 2021 following a gruelling 27-month battle with injury. The spinner, who made her Test debut in 2019, appears locked in a battle with experienced tweaker Jess Jonassen for the No. 8 spot.
Beth Mooney, Australia’s leading run-scorer from the white-ball matches, will open the batting alongside young gun Phoebe Litchfield, while pace bowler Lauren Cheatle, who made her Test debut in India earlier this summer, has been ruled out after having a skin cancer removed from her neck.
Australia will have to contend with scorching heatwaves this week as temperatures are forecast to touch 42 degrees on Thursday, followed by tops of 36 and 40 on the weekend.
The WACA pitch, famous for its bounce, has uncharacteristically been showing signs of sharp turn this summer, which should aid leg-spinner Alana King and Belinda Clark Award recipient Ash Gardner. During last week’s Sheffield Shield match between Western Australia and New South Wales, spinners Chris Green and Corey Rocchiccioli combined for 16 wickets.
“We did discuss that there should be a bit of turn,” South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk told reporters this week.
“I do actually think our team is a side that plays spin quite well. We’ve adapted quite well the last couple of years. We’ve played a lot of subcontinent teams, so I think we do play spin well and hopefully we can use that to our advantage.”
The Perth Test between Australia and South Africa gets underway at the WACA on Thursday, with the first ball scheduled for 2pm AEDT.
Australia squad
Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham
South Africa squad
Laura Wolvaardt, Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Mieke de Ridder, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Chloé Tryon, Delmi Tucker
