Sophie Molineux says Australia are embracing the challenge of their upcoming 800km Leeds-Southampton round trip as they juggle long travel days with recovery and injury concerns.
Having wrapped up a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Bangladesh on Wednesday, the Australian squad will board their coach on Thursday morning for the 400km journey down the M1 and A34 to Southampton, which is likely to take upwards of five hours.
There, they’ll play the Netherlands on Saturday before making the return trip back to Leeds on Sunday, where they’ll play Pakistan two days later, with a further 300km trip to London to follow.
Long bus journeys are part-and-parcel of a tour of the United Kingdom, and Molineux was quick to point out on Wednesday that the coaches provided by the ICC for this T20 World Cup are at the ultra-lush end of the scale.
(Those blessed enough to have ever experienced the now defunct ‘Megabus’ version of budget long-distance intercity travel in the UK, where arriving at one’s destination at all was considered a bonus, won’t be able to relate).
“We’ve known this for a long time,” Molineux said.
“We’ve got a big few days, a couple of big trips, but I think we’ll be fine.
“We’re very lucky we’ve got a beautiful bus, we can recline, we can sleep if we need to.”
Australia will, however, cover more kilometres than any other team across the group stage of the tournament, from their warm-up base in Cardiff to their fifth-round match at Lord’s.
Their approximate 1,440kms of travel is closely followed by the Windies’ and Bangladesh’s 1,300km, while New Zealand, whose first three matches are all in Southampton, are at the other end of the scale at around 600km.
England, as host nation, visit the most separate venues in covering approximately 1,100km, while Australia’s top Group A rivals India traverse around 800km.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Molineux said there were no complaints from her squad, who were looking forward to settling in for a nap, pulling out the playing cards or loading up on their chosen digital distractions.
“It’s just going to be important at the other end of these trips to be able to get moving and do the right things, which this group’s really good at anyway,” Molineux continued.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge … I’m actually looking forward to getting a nap in on the bus on the way down to Southampton tomorrow.
“I think it’ll be more than fine, we’ve known this is coming for a long time.”
One concern Australia’s medical staff will need to factor into their planning however is how they manage injured duo Phoebe Litchfield and Ashleigh Gardner.
Both missed the match against Bangladesh, with Litchfield to also miss the games against the Netherlands and Pakistan with an ‘acute’ quad injury.
Gardner, who has sprained her ankle, will be hoping to return for Saturday’s game in Southampton.
“Ash is looking good,” Molineux said.
“I think she’s getting better every day. It was just a small sprain in her ankle.
“We’ll assess once we get to Southampton and see what things are looking like for that next game.”
Australia will arrive in Southampton with momentum behind them after seeing off South Africa by 65 runs and Bangladesh by nine wickets.
Molineux said while Wednesday’s result following the double injury-blow was a testament to her team’s depth, they were not getting carried away with three group stage matches remaining.
“it’s probably a reflection about our depth and the trust that we have in all 15 players that are over here,” she said.
“(Injuries) pop up during World Cups, and I think the squad that we’ve got, they’re fully aware that that can happen, and I think everyone’s ready.
“So it was really pleasing to see that today with a few changes and to be able to play like that – one goes out and another one steps up.
“There’s some teams out there that are playing some really good cricket, and we’re aware of that, but we can’t control it.
“All we can control is what we’re doing, and I think the group’s doing really well in that so far.”
ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026
Australia squad: Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham. Travelling reserve: Tahlia Wilson
Australia’s Group 1 fixtures
June 13: beat South Africa by 65 runs
June 17: beat Bangladesh by nine wickets
June 20: v Netherlands, Rose Bowl, Hampshire, 7:30pm AEST
June 24: v Pakistan, Headingley, Leeds, 3:30am AEST
June 28: v India, Lord’s, London, 11:30pm AEST
Semi-final 1: The Oval, London, June 30, 11:30pm AEST
Semi-final 2: The Oval, London, July 2 (3:30am July 3 AEST)
Final: Lord’s, London, July 5, 11:30pm AEST
Click here for the full tournament schedule
All matches will be broadcast on Amazon’s Prime Video
