TOM HAYES
CRICKET
By TOM HAYES LOCAL cricketing export Nicole Faltum will tour the United Kingdom with the Australian squad later this year, after being selected in the Australia A 13-player squad. At the age of 23, Faltum has now been part of professional cricket since 2017, when she began her career with Victoria and the Melbourne Stars. Faltum made her debut for Australia A in January 2022, when she played alongside the Ashes series against England A. In that series, Australia retained the Ashes, something that the women’s side have been able to do since 2015. Since then, she has done well domestically, captaining the Women’s Big Bash League side Melbourne Stars and state side, Victoria. Faltum scored her maiden List A century earlier this year for Victoria, while captaining the state side in the Women’s National Cricket League. She and fellow Australian representative Ellyse Perry smoked New South Wales in a match, Faltum managing 107 not out, and Perry 147. In the newly-formed Australia A squad, Faltum is one of three wicket keepers, which leaves the chance that she could be played in the outfield if someone else is preferred. The wicket-keeping trio of Maddy Darke, Tahlia Wilson and Faltum will surely leave the selectors with a headache ahead of the tour. If anyone in the women’s Ashes squad goes down with an injury or loses form, there is every chance that an Australia A player could then get the call up to play. The women’s side will be in England during the men’s Ashes series, which begins on June 16 and is scheduled to finish on August 1. The women’s Ashes tour consists of one Test match , three Twenty20’s, and three One Day International’s from June 22 to July 18. Anyone not selected from the Ashes squad can drop in and play for the Australia A squad. The Australia A squad will face England A in three T20’s and three ODI’s from June 21 to July 2.
