Mahika Gaur and Bess Heath. (Photo Source: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
17-year-old Mahika Gaur, who has represented the United Arab Emirates in international cricket previously, has earned her maiden call-up for England. The pacer has played 19 matches for UAE before shifting to England in order to boost her career. She is deemed to be a future star after impressive performances for Manchester Originals and hence England is keen to try her in the upcoming ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka, which is slated to begin later this month.
Stumper-batter Bess Heath, too earned her maiden call-up for the white-ball series against Sri Lanka. The 21-year-old was decent in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy; since then, she was in the radar of the national selectors. Eventually, after a couple of decent outings for Northern Superchargers in the ongoing The Hundred, Heath made it to the national squad.
“We have named a squad with a good blend of youth and experience and see this as an important series to test the depth of playing pool. Mahika (Gaur) is a very exciting talent. Left-arm swing bowlers of over six-foot tall are unique in women’s cricket. Mahika has shown consistently this summer that she is a threat with the new ball and we are excited to see how she performs at the international level.
“Bess [Heath] is an all-action cricketer who impacts games and is a great fit for us and how we want to play. She impressed in the A team games against Australia earlier in the summer, and she also provides cover for Amy Jones with the gloves,” Jon Lewis, England‘s head coach was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Meanwhile, both Gaur and Heath were part of England’s A set-up for quite some time. They were also involved in the warm-up matches against Australia A. On the other hand, star players in the form of Sophie Ecclestone and Sophia Dunkley have been rested from the entire white-ball series. Nat Sciver-Brunt will be missing out on the T20I series, while Danni Wyatt will be out of the ODI series to manage her workload.
England T20I squad – Heather Knight (c), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Lauren Filer, Mahika Gaur, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Issy Wong, Danni Wyatt
England ODI squad – Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Lauren Filer, Mahika Gaur, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Emma Lamb, Nat Sciver-Brunt