'Nice to be back' – Sophie Molineux shines on ODI return
Playing ODIs for the first time in over two years, Sophie Molineux impressed with a clinical bowling display that laid the foundation for Australia's win in the second match against Bangladesh.
Since her debut in 2018, Sophie Molineux had played nine ODIs before Sunday's game against Bangladesh, the last being in September 2021 against India.
Frequent injuries and the presence of the ever-reliable fellow left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen in the team kept Molineux out for the most part. However, the long hiatus did not dim Molineux's shine as the savvy bowler returned figures of 3/10 in the second ODI against Bangladesh. Her 10-over spell contained a whopping 53 dot balls.
Molineux took the cruical wickets of opener Fargana Hoque, captain Nigar Sultana, and Ritu Moni as Bangladesh were bowled out for just 97, a target Australia chased with six wickets to spare and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ICC Women's Championship series.
"It's just nice to be back, to be honest," Molineux told the reporters after the game. "Being back on tour and to get a game is really cool. I think that all bowlers performed really well today, especially the spinners and then to get over the line, it's a good day for us."
Injuries have not deterred the 26-year-old from trying and she has remained on the selectors' radar.
"It was a long two years, I learned a lot over those two years," she added.
"And I'm just happy to be playing cricket. I'm happy to be playing in any colours at the moment and even better to get a game for Australia again."
Sophie Molineux reacts to her outstanding return to ODI cricket in Dhaka #BANvAUS pic.twitter.com/gZmhktyx2C
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 24, 2024
ICC Women's Championship Standings 2022-25
Australia are sitting pretty on top of the ICC Women's Championship table with 26 points and despite the ODI series in the bag, Molineux believes the remaining matches on the tour will provide invaluable experience to the side for the upcoming ICC Women's T20 World Cup, which is taking place in Bangladesh in September.
"It's just going to help out both our batting and bowling unit," Molineux said.
"I think each game we're playing in different conditions we're learning and that's how we're going to make us a better team.
"So even if it's not a copy-and-paste pitch to what we're going to get at the World Cup in a few months’ time, I think just being able to go through these different matches and being able to adjust, communicate and then learn from it (is valuable)."