Cricket Australia will send a women's 'A' side to England to coincide with the Ashes for the first time this winter in a bid to strengthen the top squad's cause and set up the next generation of success.
Australia are due to defend their Ashes crown across the multi-formatted series in June and July in England, with the 'A'-team set to travel at the same time.
The move will allow short and long-form specialists to maintain match time on tour while filtering back into the 'A' side in main-team games they aren't playing, as well as offer touring experience to up-and-coming players.
"It's an opportunity to join in on some of the tour and practice matches and promote competition for Australia as well," National Performance Squad (NPS) boss Leah Poulton said.
"When I was met with that opportunity I thought let's go for it. The more we can get young players playing matches and experiencing different conditions the better."
The idea is somewhat similar to that being used by the men's team, who will send an 'A' side to England during this year's World Cup to help finalise Ashes preparation and selections.
Poulton - who played 90 matches for Australia - has headed CA's women's NPS program since its introduction out of the rise in the professional game in 2017.
Under her watch, the elite pathways system has been streamlined with the introduction of formal under-19, NPS and Australia A squads.
The program has also helped set up a regeneration of the Australian team, with Lauren Cheatle, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham and Tayla Vlaeminck all moving up from the squad in the past year.
It's also come at a time where rival countries have began to catch up in professionalism, as Australia dropped both the 2016 World Twenty20 and 2017 World Cup before returning to the top last year.
"We did look at England for a little while and think how do we not only match it and improve it," Poulton said.
"To CA's credit if England ever got ahead Australia are well and truly back in front now.
"With the professionalism of the game and players playing longer we really needed to be a bit more proactive in that space and ensure that good state players and young talents were getting opportunities they deserve."
