Rolton to step down as captain after World Twenty20

Karen Rolton will step down as captain of the Australian women's team after the World Twenty20 in England this June. Jodie Fields, the vice-captain of the Twenty20 squad, will take over Rolton's leadership role for the away series against England immediately after the tournament while Alex Blackwell will be her deputy.

"Karen Rolton will captain the ICC World Twenty20 team in England but has decided that it's time to hand over leadership to a new generation at the conclusion of the tournament," Margaret Jennings, head of the women's selection panel, said.

"It's a great credit to Karen and her leadership skills that she has decided to make this decision, which would not have been easy. She has provided a great opportunity for Jodie and Alex to continue building their leadership skills and she will also be there in England to support this hand-over."

Australia made two changes to the squad for the World Twenty20, bringing in Elyse Villani and Kirsten Pike. "There are two inclusions to the squad with Elyse Villani coming in and Kirsten Pike returning from injury which will add both youth and experience to the team," Jennings said. "We've lost Emma Sampson and Leonie Coleman to retirement and Delissa Kimmince is the unlucky player to miss out on selection for this squad.

"Kirsten's been out for 18 months and we're looking for her previous experience to help guide us through. Elyse Villani is a promising young batter who plays an extremely attacking style of game and she will get an opportunity to show what she is capable of in the short form of the game."

After the World Twenty20, Australia will play five ODIs, a Twenty20 and a Test against England and their squad for the tour was the same expect for one change - Rachael Haynes replacing Elyse Villani.

"Haynes is a talented young left-hand batter who had a good National League season for Victoria and we see her as having a big future in Australian women's cricket," Jennings said. "She's also a former captain of our national under-21 team, the Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars so she comes in with some good experience under her belt as well.

"Although our World Cup performance didn't go according to how we planned in March, one of the good things to come out of it was that we did beat England twice which will give our squad some confidence heading into the series."

Squad for World Twenty20: Karen Rolton (capt), Sarah Andrews, Alex Blackwell, Jessica Cameron, Lauren Ebsary, Rene Farrell, Jodie Fields (vc), Shelley Nitschke, Erin Orborne, Ellyse Perry, Kirsten Pike, Leah Poulton, Lisa Sthalekar, Elyse Vilani

Squad for England tour: Jodie Fields (capt), Karen Rolton, Sarah Andrews, Alex Blackwell (vc), Jessica Cameron, Lauren Ebsary, Rene Farrell, Shelley Nitschke, Erin Orborne, Ellyse Perry, Kirsten Pike, Leah Poulton, Lisa Sthalekar, Rachael Haynes.