Heather Knight and Sophie Ecclestone. (Photo Source: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
The extensive English summer kicks off on May 11, 2024, with England Women playing host to Pakistan Women for a white-ball series comprising three T20Is, followed by three ODIs. Post hosting Pakistan Women, New Zealand Women will make a visit to England to participate in three ODIs and five T20Is. Following this, England Women will tour Ireland to square off against Ireland Women, playing three ODIs and as many T20Is, before heading to Bangladesh for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.
The England and Wales Cricket Board recently announced a 15-member and a 13-member squad for the T20Is and ODIs, respectively. There were two surprise exclusions, with batting all-rounder, Sophia Dunkley, and opening batter, Tammy Beaumont, missing out on both squads and the T20I squad, respectively.
After a promising start to the New Zealand tour earlier this year with a crisp 32, Dunkley registered scores of 2 and 0 in the T20s to follow, which prompted her to be pushed down the order. The fourth T20I saw England Women lose only three wickets in their entire innings, which didn’t permit Dunkley to express herself. Dunkley hit the winning boundary to grant her side a convincing 4-1 series win. After being rested for the first two ODIs of the three-match series, Dunkley could only manage a single run in five deliveries, which was implicitly the writing on the wall for her as far as her immediate prospects with the team were concerned.
England Women’s head coach, Jon Lewis, communicated with Dunkley by sending her a message in which he let her know that he’d be really pleased to see the 25-year-old return to her original best, in which case, he felt she is one of the best cricketers going around the country when she’s on song.
“The message I have sent to Sophia is that I’d like to see her back playing her best cricket. When she’s playing her best cricket, she’s one of our best cricketers,” remarked Lewis.
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He also expressed that he had a gut feeling about Dunkley being a big asset for her nation going forward, considering her possessing immense quantities of flair and aptitude within her. He admitted that the team management and himself dropped her from the Pakistan series for her to get her bearings, as well as take some valuable time off from being the epicentre of criticism and questions directed her way, coupled with her going the extra mile in her practice sessions to better herself to the level she’s expected to operate at.
“I still have a really strong belief that Sophia’s got a big future playing for England. I think her talent is incredible. She just needs a little bit of space to get back to her best cricket and work out how to cope with the situation she’s being put in,” added Lewis.
The 48-year-old former domestic veteran also made it clear that he didn’t want to squander Dunkley and the seasoned Beaumont’s time by carrying them around as replacement players, and would rather they spend time in regional and domestic cricket to bounce back to optimal form.
“What I was really keen to do with Tammy and Dunks in particular was not to carry them around as spare batters, to give them the opportunities to play regional cricket and play some cricket rather than sitting on the bench as two experienced players,” reasoned Lewis.
England Women T20I squad: Heather Knight (c), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones (wk), Freya Kemp, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt
England Women ODI squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt