Spinner Sophie Molineux has been announced as the Australian women’s team captain for all formats. Molineux will be the captain in the upcoming T20I series against India in Australia. Tahlia McGrath will remain the vice captain in all formats, while all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner will be the second vice captain. Molineux has been the crux of the Australian spin department.
The 28-year-old plays for Victoria in the Women’s National Cricket League in Australian domestic cricket. She played for Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred Competition in England in 2022 and for a New Zealand team named Canterbury Magicians
Wicket-keeper batter Alyssa Healy had declared this month that she wanted to retire from all formats of International cricket after the series against India that will be played in February and March. Healy opted out of the T20 series against India to give the team more time to settle under the captaincy of Molineux ahead of the T20 World Cup in England, which will be played in June.
Australia have announced the squad for the upcoming series against India for all three formats, and Alyssa Healy will be the captain for the ODI series and the one-off test match. Molineux made an incredible comeback after suffering a stress fracture, which prevented her from playing the 2022 Ashes series, the 2022 ICC Women’s World Cup (won by Australia), and the 2022 Commonwealth Games (Gold medal won by the Australian women’s team).
On her comeback, Molineux helped Melbourne Renegades win their first Women’s Big Bash League in 2024 as she claimed 16 wickets in that season. In the same year, she took 12 wickets for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the WPL, helping the team win the trophy and was the second-highest wicket taker in that edition. Molineux is also named in the contract list of the national team.
In 2025, Molineux missed the Ashes series as well as the WPL due to a knee injury. She was included in the squad for the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup in India, but she was included in the playing XI only in some matches, keeping in mind workload management due to her injury. Molineux has captained Melbourne Renegades in 37 games, winning 17, losing 19 and 1 match ending in a no result.
Why was Tahlia McGrath not preferred for the captain’s role?
All-rounder Tahlia McGrath, who is the vice-captain, was expected to be named as captain but might have been ignored due to her poor form. The 30-year-old scored just 55 runs in 4 innings and looked out of form during the 2025 ICC Women’s World Cup in India. During the 2025 WBBL season, she scored just 98 runs in 9 innings and took only 5 wickets as a bowler.
Although Tahlia’s record as captain of the ODI team has been impressive, as she has won 6 out of 6 ODIs captaining the team. In 9 T20Is as captain, Tahlia has been impressive, winning 8 matches and losing just 1.
