Legspinner Alana King is confident that she will be able to succeed in the Test arena as well as white-ball cricket after joining Australia's 15-player squad for the women's Ashes series.
The hosts will get a boost from the return of experienced trio Rachel Haynes, Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen in the series against England, which includes three Twenty20s, three ODIs and one Test.
King, who was part of the Perth Scorchers' title-winning WBBL team this season, is likely to make his international debut on January 20 with the opening T20I of the series at the Adelaide Oval.
Injuries to Georgia Wareham and Sophie Molyneux left the selectors to make a big decision.
Adelaide Strikers legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington, taking a league-best 22 wickets at 15.72 in her WBBL side's campaign, was at the forefront to fill the void.
But Wellington, who played the Ashes Test in 2017, has instead been selected in the 15-player Australia A squad, which will take on England A in six white-ball matches that overlap with the Ashes.
National selector Shaun Flagler said, "It was a difficult selection process with many players coming out of the strong WBBL tournament, but we are confident that we have picked a balanced, all-round team with players who can perform in all three formats." can."
"Alana King ... [has] a great opportunity to show what she can do at this level.
“After improving in all aspects of his game over the past few seasons, he is well prepared to play a pivotal role in the series.
"While Georgia Redmayne, Stella Campbell, Matlen Brown and Molly Strano have missed the India series due to a reduction in squad size, we know they will be able to lead with the A side and be able to slot straight in if they get a chance. But on the side."
King has no experience of playing cricket for a long time but if she is called up for the January 27-30 Test in Canberra, she is honing her skills to adapt to the format.
"I have full faith in my game," King said on Wednesday.
"They believe and I believe that I can play in any format of the game. Whatever happens, I know I will be ready to go whenever the call comes to me.
"Saturday afternoon I got a call from the chief selector (telling me I was in the team). It was probably the happiest day of my life."
Australia are hopeful that Molyneux can be fit in time for the one-day World Cup in New Zealand, which will take place immediately after the Ashes.
Wareham would be ruled out of that tournament and the Commonwealth Games due to a knee injury.
Australia Ashes squad: Darcy Brown, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashley Gardner, Rachel Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Meg Lanning (c), Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tyla Vlaminck.
Australia A squad: Georgia Redmayne (c), Matlon Brown, Erin Burns, Stella Campbell, Nicole Faltum, Tess Flintoff, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Phoebe Litchfield, Katie Mack, Courtney Sippel, Molly Strano, Alice Villani, Georgia Woll, Amanda -Jade Wellington.