Australia dealt Ashes blow after Beth Mooney breaks jaw in training incident

Australia could start the Ashes without an injured Beth Mooney and Ellyse Perry as selectors consider leaving the game’s biggest name out of the Twenty20 team.

Australia’s squad for Thursday’s opening match of the multi-format series remains uncertain after Mooney was hit in the chin facing throwdowns from coach Matt Mott on Monday.

The world’s top-ranked Twenty20 batter had surgery on Tuesday and will now miss at least the T20 component of the Ashes, and most likely the one-off Test and three ODI matches as well.

Mooney, the WBBL’s leading run-scorer, is also in doubt for the one-day World Cup in New Zealand in March, as officials wait on her recovery time. Her absence comes with Australia already without injured spinners Georgia Wareham and Sophie Molinuex for the Ashes. “It’s very disappointing for her,” Mott said. “It’s poor timing. She’s had a good break out of the game and was hitting the ball extremely well.”

Mooney’s unavailability will force a rethink of Australia’s batting line-up for Thursday’s T20 opener in Adelaide. One option is for Alyssa Healy to be joined at the top of the order by Rachael Haynes, who missed the most recent ODI series against India. However, Mott indicated on Tuesday he would strongly consider keeping Haynes in the middle order, praising her cool head. Georgia Redmayne and Elyse Villani shape as other options top open the batting.

All-rounder Nat Sciver says England are feeling "a bit more calm" now after initial frustrations with the strict coronavirus protocols in place upon their arrival in Australia for the Women's Ashes. The squad were greeted with stringent conditions when they touched down in Canberra, with players not allowed to meet in groups or go to restaurants, even outdoors.