BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - AUGUST 07: Jess Jonassen of Team Australia celebrates the wicket of Taniya Bhatia of Team India to win the match and the gold medal with team mates Meg Lanning and Alyssa Healy during the Cricket T20 - Gold Medal match between Team Australia and Team India on day ten of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at Edgbaston on August 07, 2022 on the Birmingham, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Australia have announced their 15-player squad for next month's T20 World Cup final, with a pair of players returning from injury for the tournament in South Africa.
Veteran keeper Alyssa Healy will return from a calf complaint sustained late into last year's series against India, while Georgia Wareham has been named in the squad following her recovery from an ACL injury.
Wareham's inclusion in the squad comes as somewhat of a surprise given the leg-spinner has played little cricket since suffering the setback in 2021. The 23-year-old made her return to the field last week for Victoria in their one-day side.
Both Wareham and Healy are among nine players that were part of Australia's successful 2020 T20 World Cup squad, which will again be led by Meg Lanning.
"It's always tough to narrow a squad down to just 15 players, but we're confident we've picked a well-balanced side that's well placed for the series against Pakistan and ready to challenge for a third consecutive T20 title," National Selector Shawn Flegler said, via cricket.com.au.
"(Meg and Georgia) bring a wealth of experience to the group, which is always crucial during major tournaments … Georgia in particular has had a tough run of injuries, but she's shown a great deal of resilience and her return is a real boost for the side."
Australia are chasing their third successive T20 World Cup title after claiming the trophy on home soil three years ago and in the West Indies in 2018.
A third-straight win would see Australia claim six of the last seven Women's T20 World Cups, a run dating back to 2010.
Australia's first match of the tournament will come on February 11 against New Zealand in Paarl, before matches with other group-stage opponents Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Australia will also compete with Pakistan in a three-match series later this month to prepare for the tournament.
Australian 2023 T20 Squad: Meg Lanning (c), Alyssa Healy (vc), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham