MUMBAI: When Belinda Robinson, former Australian player, handed Tahlia McGrath her Baggy Green cap, no. 171, on a bright afternoon in November 2017 at the picturesque North Sydney Oval, the South Australian nodded politely with her eyes fixated on a bag that carried one of the most coveted caps in cricket. Having made her international debut a year ago in Queensland against South Africa, the cap presentation was not new for McGrath, but the cap certainly was. In that Test, a pink ball one, McGrath played her role with three wickets and a partnership of 100 runs with her hero, Ellyse Perry.
A lot has changed for McGrath since — injuries, a stint in an overseas league like the Women's Cricket Super League in England, rebuilding years with South Australia Scorpions and Adelaide Strikers in domestic cricket, return to the Australian squad and eventually playing XIs, the long-awaited debut in T20Is, two World Cup wins, two Women's Big Bash League titles and finally the leadership role. Of those who have followed McGrath's career, only a few would have projected her to take over the leadership role of one of the most successful cricket teams.
After the shock retirement of Meg Lanning last month, the team needed to fill those shoes, but McGrath is completely aware of those expectations. "You can't replace Lanning. Her stats, or her captaincy, just speaks for itself," McGrath told the media in Mumbai ahead of the one-off Test against India. "But the fact that now Midge (Alyssa Healy) and I are in full-time roles, We are excited about the challenge and leading this team forward. And I think this is the perfect tour for us in India, where you spend so much time together as a team that we can help bond the team and put our spin on it. We have sort of been in interim roles for the last 12 months where there's a different feel now that we've got the jobs full-time. We're both excited about this tour and, and the future, what's to come," she added.
The interim period of the leadership started in India in December last year when the two sides faced each other in five T20Is. The team that toured Mumbai in 2022 had different goals. With a T20 World Cup right around the corner, that series was the opportunity for both sides to iron out the potential issues ahead of the big dance. For Australia, at least, this time around it feels like the start of the genuine rebuilding phase. While the players who are part of the current squad have played together for years, without the battle-hardened leadership of Lanning and her deputy Rachael Haynes, Australia are not the clear favourites ahead of a long away series in unfamiliar conditions.
That is where the experience McGrath has gained as a captain of the two-time Women's Big Bash League Champions Adelaide Strikers will come in handy. Healy has been part of the unofficial leadership group over the years when Lanning was the captain, but now the responsibility on her shoulders has increased multiple folds as she would juggle captaincy, keeping and potentially opening the batting as well. Australia need McGrath's calmness and ability to perform under pressure like never before.
And it seems like she has that clarity within herself about playing that role in the team. "I think what I offer as a leader is just calmness. So no matter what the situation is, I like to keep a pretty calm head. Then (outside of the game) I'm just a relationship person. Getting around and connecting with different people in the group and making sure everyone's connected. My biggest thing at the moment is helping out Midge wherever I can because being captain of an international side is a massive role. For me, it's just trying to take some of the pressure off her, be a sounding board, and throw some ideas at her as well," McGrath mentioned with confidence.
Australia has a tradition of leaders who stand behind their team captains. Whether it was Karen Rolton with Belinda Clark or Alex Blackwell with Jodie Fields and Lanning, or Haynes who stood like a rock behind Lanning throughout the later part of their careers. The deputies have always made a difference on and off the field. McGrath has the opportunity to continue that legacy of cricketers who might not be the first name on the playing XI but certainly were the crisis negotiators when the team needed them most. Her time starts now, with a long series against their closest rivals in recent times.
