England bringing their best squad to Birmingham
England have picked their ‘best squad’ for the Commonwealth Games with Heather Knight set to captain the team, but experienced opener Tammy Beaumont has missed out.
Cricket will be involved in the multi-sport competition for the first time this summer with the women’s Twenty20 tournament in Birmingham due to get under way today.
It will take place days after England complete their three-match T20 series with South Africa and head coach Lisa Keightley has named the same 15-player squad for both assignments.
Beaumont, a veteran of 99 T20 internationals, is a notable absentee but has been told it does not necessarily mean the end for her in the sprint format.
“We feel that is our best squad and the way we have approached it, we want to be quite aggressive up top,” Keightley said. “The players we have picked we think gives us options to do that and also other options in the batting line-up. I think we have just got real good flexibility.
“Obviously Tammy is an amazing player and she has performed really well over a long period of time. I suppose the challenge is out to Tam to go away, work on things we have been working on and show us why she should be in the squad.
“I am sure she will bounce back and that is what we want really. We want pressure on, players getting better in every format and in 50-over cricket, you can’t match Tammy’s record, it speaks for itself.
“In T20, I think there is still some room for growth and improvement there and now it is up to her to go away and do that. The Hundred is a fantastic opportunity to do that and we will see what she can do.”
Beaumont’s spot at the top of the order could be filled by Bryony Smith, who hit 66 not out in a List A contest against South Africa earlier in July.
Teenagers Alice Capsey and Freya Kemp have also got the nod – alongside the experienced Katherine Brunt – and could feature in the eight-team tournament that will take place solely at Edgbaston between July 29 and August 7.
Seventeen-year-olds Capsey and Kemp have played for England A this summer and Keightley says the former is ready to make her mark after surprisingly only being part of the shadow squad for the Ashes earlier this year.
Keightley added: “I think Alice’s time is now and she gives us lots of options with the ball, another option to bowl, and she can float in the batting order.
“She tends to be able to move quite freely with a good strike rate in doing that. We have always had an eye on her. Sometimes the skipper doesn’t want to put too much pressure on a young kid too early and I think she has done that really well.”
Captain Knight could be part of a floating middle-order at the Commonwealth Games and is excited for Team England, who are in a group with New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
“It is such a massive opportunity for us and for the game to compete in the Commonwealth Games, especially on home soil,” she said.
“When you’re younger you watch these multi-sport events but, as a cricketer, you don’t imagine you’ll be out there representing Team England. It also gives us a brilliant chance to engage some young people in cricket who maybe haven’t played or watched it before.
“It’s a hugely exciting squad and for us as a group to have a chance to make history and be the first women’s cricketers to medal at the Commonwealth Games is something that can really drive us forward.”
Team England squad: Heather Knight (c), Maia Bouchier, Katherine Brunt, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Nat Sciver (vc), Bryony Smith, Issy Wong, Danni Wyatt.
