Alana King pushes for Women's T20 World Cup selection
The leg-spinner's impressive return has handed Australia a welcome selection dilemma ahead of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026.
When Alana King took the field against West Indies in St Vincent for the first T20I, it marked nearly 12 months since the leg-spinner had last featured in the format for Australia.
She made an immediate impact, delivering a superb spell of 3/14 to remind selectors of her quality with less than three months to go for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
With the World Cup set to be held in England and Wales and competition stiff among the spinners – including captain Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham – King remains both realistic and optimistic about her chances of making the squad.
"I'd love to [see four spinners], but I don't think that's going to be the case with the T20 World Cup," King said. "I think it's all going to be conditions-based and we'll wait and see, but any chance that I can get the ball in my hand, I'm absolutely stoked.
"I can only control what I can control and when given that opportunity, I'm glad that I can take it. Hopefully, I keep getting those opportunities and putting my hand up, but I'll focus on this series at the moment before we look forward to the World Cup."
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Alana King has endured a stop-start T20I career so far. Having made her debut in 2022, she was a regular in the side for close to a year before falling out of the setup for an extended period of almost two years.
She returned to the fold in early 2025 and featured in five T20Is against England and New Zealand, picking up six wickets.
"I've said this before, but they [the selectors] have given me some feedback a few years ago when I took it to my stride and got some great exposure at the Perth Scorchers and they've helped me become a three-phase bowler," King added.
"So, no doubt the selectors know what I can do and I think the team knows what I can do. It's always nice to contribute to good wins and playing a real versatile role. I'm trying not to be just a middle-over[s] bowler, especially in T20s."
King will have further opportunities in the ongoing series against West Indies to strengthen her case for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026, which gets underway on 12 June.