Ahead of the historic pink ball Test against Australia Women at the Carrara Oval in Queensland, Mithali Raj sounded confident of India’s pace attack and termed it as one of the best the country has produced.

Jhulan Goswami has played over 270 internationals and also bagged four wickets in the just-concluded ODI series versus Australia. Meghna Singh generated swing in the ODI rubber and supported Goswami quite well. Meghna, who plays for the Railways in the domestic circuit, also has the experience of playing first-class cricket and picked up 10 wickets at 20.60 in the Inter-Zone Women’s three-day competition in the 2017-18 season. Shikha Pandey, who has played three Test matches, and all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar are also available for selection.

“They should be one of the best fast-bowling attacks that the Indian team has (had),” Raj said in the pre-game presser. “Of course with the huge experience that Jhulan (Goswami) has, and the way she’s been performing for the Indian team, and a young speedster like Meghna Singh who has come in for her first series, she’s been very impressive.

“And Pooja Vastrakar, who’s made a comeback after two years, we’re trying to shape her into an allrounder. These girls have been working very hard on their skills, I’m quite happy to see that, and the results are there to see for the team and for everybody.”

Raj said the experience of playing with the pink ball in the nets was a ‘different experience’ and also acknowledged that a little extra time of practice would have been helpful. “I think the first session we had with the pink ball was yesterday. Yes, everybody had a different experience because we are not used to the pink ball, it does move around quite a bit. I think that is pretty much the first impression we got with the pink ball,” she said.

“Yeah, if we could have got a little more time between the last one-day [match] and the Test, it would have been quite helpful. But, again, I understand it was shortened because of Covid-19 protocols.”

India women will played two Tests this year at the end of this fixture and Raj opined that if Test cricket became “a regular feature of bilateral series”, it would be great for women’s cricket.

“The most significant thing is that we had two Tests this year. We played one in England and now we are playing against Australia. If this becomes a regular feature in bilateral series, then women’s cricket will thrive. I get this feedback most of the time, even today’s players who play in different leagues, they also love to play the longer format, if it becomes a regular thing, it will be great for women’s cricket.”

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