Women’s T20 World Cup 2026: ‘The girls are really hungry’ – Sophie Molineux backs Australia to shine on the biggest stage

Sophie Molineux (Source:Gettyimages)

Australia all-rounder Sophie Molineux has urged her teammates to use their lack of global silverware as motivation and play with freedom at the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

Molineux said the team is excited about the opportunity to showcase its progress when Australia begins its campaign against South Africa at Old Trafford on June 13.

“I think it can free us up if we harness that. The last couple of World Cups we’ve learnt a whole lot from that and been able to implement a few things. I feel like we’ve really evolved as a team in the last few months and even before that. So I’m really excited and I think the girls are really hungry to get out there and be able to put that in place. I don’t think there’s any better arena to be able to do it at a World Cup in the big moments that are going to come in the next few weeks,” said Molineux as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Molineux was appointed as the successor to Alyssa Healy at the start of this year. She featured solely as a batter during Australia’s tour of the Caribbean in March after suffering a back injury during the home series against India, where a stress reaction was diagnosed.

However, careful management of her workload has helped her regain full fitness, and she has bowled in both of Australia’s warm-up matches against South Africa at Arundel. Molineux is eager to establish herself as a calm and supportive captain, aiming to bring out the best in a squad blessed with exceptional talent and skill, and help the team reach even greater heights.

“As a person and leader, I’d like to be calm. I also care a lot about this team and the people in it, first and foremost that the people in the environment feel like they can be themselves. That’s been a big thing coming in. We’ve got all the ingredients there. Now we’ve got the stage and the opportunity to be able to show that over the next few weeks. The girls are really hungry to be able to do that. I’m really excited for what this group can do,” said Molineux.

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