MITCHELL JOHNSON: Tahlia McGrath can lead Australia’s T20 World Cup team in finals with Alyssa Healy out

Australia’s Women’s T20 World Cup squad is being tested in the United Arab Emirates - and not just by the hot weather.

Injuries are putting some added pressure on the squad coming into their semifinal against South Africa tonight as their chase for yet another title heats up.

Recent injuries to fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck and wicket-keeper-captain Alyssa Healy in the win against Pakistan is not something a team wants at the business end of a major tournament.

But they need to adjust quickly.

These situations are why you pick a squad with depth, which Australia has in spades.

They are a tight-knit group, they know their game well and have been at the top of the world standings for a long time.

When you lose a complete player like Healy, who has been there and done that for a long period of time, it will put pressure back on the squad.

She brings energy behind the stumps and is comfortable in her role as a leader based on year’s of experience playing at the highest level.

Australian vice-captain Tahlia McGrath may get an amazing opportunity to lead her country if Healy doesn’t recover in time.

For the quietly-spoken McGrath, being vice-captain of this team has already taken her out of her comfort zone.

In my opinion, we should all strive to be taken out of our comfort zone. This is how we grow and while this is a World Cup and an important tournament for her and the team, McGrath will benefit from being thrust into the limelight to lead her country.

I am sure the team 100 per cent back her to make the tough decisions but she must be confidence and her body language will be important.

Although I never captained Australia I had an opportunity at a 2006 boot camp with the Australian team when I was the newbie.

We were split into a few different groups at the camp and I happened to be in a group of experienced players with Matthew Hayden, Brett Lee, Adam Gilchrist and skipper Ricky Ponting.

We had to take turns being the leader through the four or so days of the camp. It was my moment to be the leader at the back-end of the camp when everyone was a little tired and grumpy due to being smashed and fed limited amounts of food for days.

When I got the tap on the shoulder I was bloody nervous to say the least. I wasn’t outspoken, I was someone who was happy to watch and learn, take direction and get the job done by leading by example with my actions.

Suddenly I had the task of leading Ponting and Hayden with the other confident men in my group.

Punter came up to me and said “Mitch, this is your turn to lead us, we will do what you need us to do and back your decision. You’re the leader”.

That has always stuck with me and it was what I needed to hear at the time, knowing I had the backing of the Australian captain and the other senior leaders of the team.

Coming out of your comfort zone to lead in pressure situations is something McGrath now faces.

But in it is a really good life lesson for young kids. Being a quiet and reserved person doesn’t mean you can’t lead a group, whether it’s a sporting team or a work group.

And even removing the captain and vice-captain tags, you can be a leader in how you hold yourself, by your actions and how you go about it.

Stretching yourself or taking yourself out of your comfort zone is not easy, but in McGrath’s case, it has given her an opportunity to grow her relationship with everyone in the team, instead of just having that focus on yourself as a player.

You can then understand each individual better and grow your game as a player, look at game situations differently and most importantly grow yourself by making some mistakes along the way and learning from them.

It is hard when you’re in the public eye, but what I like about McGrath is that she has said she is ready to take on the captaincy challenge if needed.

Ultimately if it doesn’t work out and she doesn’t like the role, at least she had a crack at it and didn’t shy away from it.

Australia still has a bit of work to do in this World Cup and they will need everyone firing for the sudden death final.

This is a team full of leaders and has so much experience. I think they will handle the injury pressure and add another trophy to the ever-growing cabinet.