Stand-in captain McGrath has 'absolutely no idea' about her batting position

Tahlia McGrath will captain Australia in the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, scheduled from October 9 to 14, 2026, in Brisbane. The appointment comes after Australia's regular captain Sophie Molineux was ruled out of the series with a hip injury.

McGrath, who serves as one of two vice-captains alongside Ashleigh Gardner, admitted ahead of the series that she has no clarity on where she will bat in the order. The series will also mark the beginning of David Hemp's tenure as Bangladesh's new head coach.

"As a guess, I'd probably slot in around seven or eight, but I've got absolutely no idea what the batting order is going to look like. We're pretty lucky with the amount of talent that we've got there, and there's so much batting expertise," McGrath said, as quoted by Cricinfo.

Why is McGrath leading Australia in this series?

Molineux's hip injury has kept her out of the Bangladesh ODI series entirely, leaving McGrath to step up as stand-in captain. Molineux remains the named captain in the squad list but is unavailable for selection. Gardner, the other vice-captain, is available but McGrath has been confirmed as the leader for this assignment.

McGrath arrives at the captaincy in strong batting form. She scored 154 off 137 deliveries for South Australia against Victoria in the Women's National Cricket League season opener on September 29, 2026. She reflected on that innings, and also acknowledged the broader challenge of finding form.

"For me, it was stripping it right back to basics, what am I good at, homing in on that and just getting a bit of confidence. That knock for South Australia has done me a world of good and I'm feeling in a really good place at the moment. It's sometimes really hard to find your groove and find that confidence. Nice to know I can still play cricket, and hopefully a really good confidence boost for me. It was a relief to score runs because I haven't really contributed to teams I've been playing with for a while," she said.

What can Australia expect from Bangladesh in this series?

Australia have a dominant record against Bangladesh in ODIs, winning all five of their previous meetings. Neither side has played an ODI series since April 2026, meaning both teams return to the format after a gap of several months. Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana acknowledged the challenge of taking on the Aussies.

"They [Australia] are the best side, we all know that. We have to be very positive... and we will definitely play our A-game against them," Sultana said.

Australia Women's squad vs Bangladesh:

Sophie Molineux (c), Ashleigh Gardner (vc), Tahlia McGrath (vc), Nicola Carey, Kim Garth, Lucy Hamilton, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll and Georgia Wareham.