A fly-in-fly-out winter split between Victoria and Queensland was not on Tess Flintoff’s bingo card for 2025, but safe to say the allrounder has lapped up every opportunity that has accompanied her first national contract.

Flintoff was something of a surprise addition to Cricket Australia’s contract list for 2025-26 – the Victorian has long been earmarked as a potential international player, but it had been a decade since the Australian women’s selectors last handed a contract to an uncapped player.

But having identified a need to boost their pace depth, and with a six-month break between tours meaning the majority of the Australian players would put in a full preseason on home soil, they saw an opportunity for Flintoff to continue developing her game with the national squad.

“(I got the call) at the end of the four-day Australia A game against England A and we’d just had an awesome win,” Flintoff said of the night in April when she got the call from Australia selector Shawn Flegler.

“When he told me, I thought it was a joke, and I said, ‘I’m not actually listening to what you’re saying at the moment’.

“So it was definitely a massive surprise and I wasn’t expecting it at all, so it caught me off guard for sure.

“It’s been a pretty, pretty hectic intro, actually, I feel like it’s been non-stop since the middle of May, but I’m really enjoying the experience and I’ve got so many fellow Victorians in the squad, so it hasn’t felt like too big a jump.

“It’s been a nice little intro, the fact we’ve been FIFO basically, week on, week off up in in Brisbane … to have lots of touch points across this preseason has probably been the best thing for me and the rest of the girls, I can imagine.”

The strong Victorian presence within the Australian contract list has meant the frequent Brisbane camps have not felt too dissimilar to home, while it also handed Flintoff the chance to learn firsthand from some of the best pace-bowling allrounders in the business: Ellyse Perry, Tahlia McGrath and Annabel Sutherland.

To date, Flintoff’s only inclusion in an Australian touring squad came when she was named as injury cover during the 2023 ODI tour of Ireland, but the 22-year-old could push her case for ODI World Cup selection in the ongoing multi-format ‘A’ series against India A.

A versatile option with her right-arm pace, Flintoff is also a dangerous hitter down the order.

To make that leap, Flintoff knows consistency will be key and that has been the major focus of her preseason training with the Australian camp.

“(I’ve) just been adding little bits to my game here and there (and) that consistency piece is probably the big one missing,” Flintoff said.

“And then lots of extra strength work and things like that to aid in that consistency piece.

“But I feel like I’m trying to add to every little bit of my game, open up different parts of the ground, see if I can get a little bit quicker and add some variations.

“There’s been lots of lots of moving parts and it’s pretty cool to be able to work with some of the best coaches going around.

“I’ve definitely learned lots off them, and from the rest of the girls – it’s a world-class group and to be in amongst that and bowling to some of the best players in the world, and facing them as well, has been really cool.”

Flintoff goes ballistic to record fastest WBBL fifty

Flintoff’s other significant move ahead of the 2025-26 was her shift from Melbourne Stars to cross-town rivals the Renegades.

While she said she was grateful for her six seasons in green and for the early faith shown in her by the club – who first signed Flintoff as a 16-year-old – she said the time felt right for a change.

“(They’re) the reigning champs so it feels like I’m just jumping on the bandwagon a little bit, but speaking to Milly Illingworth and Nicole Faltum, I know how much they’ve enjoyed the move, so I thought it couldn’t hurt and we’ll see what happens,” Flintoff said.

“I’ve worked a little bit with Soph Molineux as captain in the Victorian space, and I really enjoyed that as well, so I’m excited at the prospect of what that’ll look like this season.”

Australia A v India A multi-format series

First T20: Australia A won by 13 runs

 

Second T20: Australia A won by 114 runs

 

Third T20: Australia A won by four runs

Australia A 50-Over squad: Tahlia McGrath (c), Nicole Faltum (vc), Darcie Brown, Lauren Cheatle, Amy Edgar, Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Ella Hayward, Alyssa Healy, Anika Learoyd, Rachel Trenaman, Tahlia Wilson

India A 50-over squad: Radha Yadav (c), Minnu Mani (vc), Shafali Verma, Tejal Hasabnis, Raghvi Bist, Tanushree Sarkar, Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Nandini Kashyap (WK), Dhara Gujjar, Joshita VJ, Shabnam Shakeel, Saima Thakor, Titas Sadhu, Prema Rawat, Yastika Bhatia

First one-dayer: India A won by three wickets

 

Second one-dayer: August 15, Northern Suburbs Cricket Club, Brisbane, 9.30am AEST

 

Third one-dayer: August 17, Northern Suburbs Cricket Club, Brisbane, 9.30am AEST

Australia A four-day squad: Tahlia Wilson (c), Nicole Faltum (vc), Lauren Cheatle, Maddy Darke, Amy Edgar, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Ella Hayward, Anika Learoyd, Maitlan Brown, Lilly Mills, Georgia Prestwidge, Rachel Trenaman, Courtney Webb

India A four-day squad: Radha Yadav (c), Minnu Mani (vc), Shafali Verma, Tejal Hasabnis, Raghvi Bist, Tanushree Sarkar, Uma Chetry (wk), Tanuja Kanwer, Nandini Kashyap (wk), Dhara Gujjar, Joshita VJ, Shabnam Shakeel, Saima Thakor, Titas Sadhu, Prema Rawat

Only four-day match: August 21-24, Allan Border Field, Brisbane, 9:30am AEST

All matches live on cricket.com.au and Kayo Sports.