Challenge is to hold on to No.1 spot, says Matthew Mott

The Southern Stars completed a 3-0 sweep over New Zealand in the Twenty20 International series in September to claim the top spot in the MRF Tyres ICC Women's T20 Team Rankings.

The elevation to the top spot, however, caught Mott by surprise. "We were a bit surprised with the No.1," Mott said. "We know we’ve started to turn things around and play pretty well but it would have been pretty close between us and New Zealand, they’ve had a really good couple of years. (But) we’re excited to be No.1.

"I think the challenge is to stay there and there’s no better time than the T20 World Cup – there are highly weighted points in that tournament."

Australia have named a 15-member squad for the three T20 Internationals against Pakistan – to be preceded by a three-match one-day international series, where ICC Women's Championship points are up for grabs – before flying to the Caribbean for the World T20.

“The important thing we spoke about is staying in the moment for us," Mott explained. "It’s really important that we don’t think too far ahead with the World T20, which is an obvious trap to fall into. It’s a great series in its own right, but we believe a lot in the ICC Championship and we’ll try to take as many points in the next couple of weeks as we possibly can and put ourselves ahead of other teams around us.”

Australia will play their opening fixture of the World T20 against Pakistan, so the series in Kuala Lumpur should prepare Meg Lanning's girls well for that game.

"From here it's just about adapting to the conditions. Obviously, the temperatures will be different to the last series we played against New Zealand. We are excited to come up against Pakistan. [It] should be a really great series," said Mott.

"I think it's a very good challenge for us. We do remember playing against Pakistan in the World Cup and they bowled really well. We've done a bit of research on their play and by the end of this series, we're going to know them quite well – we play them in three ODIs and three T20Is. As the series goes on, they'll know us a lot better and we will know them a lot better."

Leg-spinner Georgia Wareham and fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck were drafted into Australia's squad for the series against New Zealand. While Wareham featured in three T20Is, Vlaeminck hasn't made her international debut yet.

"It has been great for them – they have got the chance to spend time around the group. Tayla is the one who hasn't played a game yet but I'm sure she'll get a game at some stage here," said Mott.

"She's carrying a bit of a quad strain, which we are going to manage conservatively. We can see her playing a big role not just in this series but potentially in the T20 World Cup as well. She brings something very different to the team in terms of her pace and her bounce – it's something we've been looking for for a while and we're pretty keen to explore how it works out."