England women's national cricket team BIOGRAPHY & MORE
England women’s cricket team represents England in international women’s cricket.
Derbyshire's Ancora County Ground has been chosen as the bio-secure venue for England women's team for this summer. The plans for the England women's team are yet to be finalized, but the side is expected to play bilateral series against South Africa in September after India pulled out of a proposed tri-series, ESPNCricinfo reported. All the matches against South Africa will be played in Derbyshire and the Heather Knight-led team will be assembling at the ground for a training camp.
Derby is also being currently used as a base for the touring Pakistan men's team. This announcement also means that Derbyshire will not be playing any matches at their usual headquarters when the county season gets underway next month.
The county squad has been training at Repton School since returning from furlough earlier in July."England's international fixtures are massively important to the whole game at all levels and we are pleased to have been chosen to host these high-profile training camps and matches this summer," ESPNCricinfo quoted Derbyshire's chief executive, Ryan Duckett as saying."The Ancora County Ground has developed into a prominent venue for international cricket, including hosting the ICC Women's World Cup in 2017 and most recently a bio-secure training camp for the touring Pakistan squad," he added.
England Women Cricket Team will play multi-format series against India and New Zealand from June to September 2021. The summer cricketing season of England women will consist of three-match ODI series against India along with an Insurance Test Match (LV) at the start. It will be followed by a three-match T20I series.
Against New Zealand, England will play a three-match T20I series in September. It will be followed by five-match ODI series. ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said that England Cricket is very excited about hosting India and New Zealand. The above-mentioned series will be played simultaneously with The Hundred domestic tournament, scheduled to begin on July 21 in England.
England Cricket Board announced that they will play a three-match ODI (Royal London Series) against India. The Royal London Series will be played in June and July this year. Ahead of this series that will start with the first match on July 27, 2021, the England women's team will also play Insurance Test Match (LV) against India starting on July 16, 2021. After the Royal London Series, England will also host India for a three-match T20I series in July. The series will be called Vitality IT20 Series and the first T20I will be played on July 9, 2021, at The County Ground in Northampton.
There are a total of 8 teams participating in the tournament. Australia, England, South Africa, and India obtained direct entry to the tournament along with the host New Zealand. With the Qualifier for the tournament canceled mid-way last year, the final 3 spots were determined through the ODI rankings at the end of the league, which meant that Bangladesh, Pakistan, and West Indies made the cut.
England was on a hot run in the last World Cup held at home in 2017, losing only their opening game against India before beating teams like Australia and New Zealand en route to the finals. They exacted their revenge against India by beating them in the final with the inspiring bowling performance by Anya Shrubsole to derail the Indian chase and win the trophy.
However, since then, the current champions have not had the best of fortunes in this format. They have won 24 games but have lost 16 of them, including all the 3 series against Australia which was a part of the Ashes – one at home and two in Australia. They will have a lot to fix going by their recent performance, where they were blanked by Australia 3-0.
Notwithstanding their recent drubbing at the hands of Australia, the England team has been performing consistently and among the top few teams heading into the tournament. In the latest ICC Women’s Championship that served as a precursor to this tournament, they were ranked second only to Australia. Their record in this tournament has also been quite good as evident from the following table:
Notwithstanding their recent drubbing at the hands of Australia, the England team has been performing consistently and among the top few teams heading into the tournament. In the latest ICC Women’s Championship that served as a precursor to this tournament, they were ranked second only to Australia. Their record in this tournament has also been quite good as evident from the following table:
England has a handful of experienced players coupled with talented youngers in their squad. The captain, Heather Knight, along with Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Winfield-Hill, and Danielle Wyatt complement the likes of Emma Lamb and Amy Jones. Sophia Dunkley has already displayed her credentials in the middle order. Anya Shrubsole, Katherine Brunt, and Sophie Ecclestone will be supported by talented youngsters like Charlie Dean, Freya Davies, and Tash Farrant. Nat Sciver is also dependable with both bat and ball.
The England bowling is led by the dangerously accurate Anya Shrubsole. An experienced pace bowler, she can turn a match on its head alone as she had shown in the World Cup final of 2017. With the likes of Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Nat Sciver, Freya Davies, and Tash Farrant, there are several pace bowlers to choose from, a great asset for a country like New Zealand, well-known to assist pace bowlers. Then there are also the likes of Sophie Ecclestone, one of England’s premier spinners. She can be supported by Charlie Dean as the second spinner in the XI. Heather Knight is also known to bowl regularly in ODIs and has claimed 50 wickets already.
Although England is known to many as a complete team in the women’s circuit, they are prone to underperformance in their batting. Their batting had failed miserably against Australia recently as they failed to score above 200 in any of their 3 games. Even in their earlier series against New Zealand, they had failed to reach 200 on 2 out of the 5 occasions. The following table shows their batting performance in their last 10 ODIs (the most recent first).
This World Cup could be a great time for the youngsters to make their presence known in the English cricket team. As many as 10 cricketers would be featured in a World Cup game for the first time, including certainties like Sophie Ecclestone, Amy Jones, and Kate Cross, who are now regulars in the XI. However, players like Sophia Dunkley (10 ODIs), Charlie Dean (7 ODIs), Tash Farrant, and Freya Davies (6 ODIs each) have not played too many games so will be looking to make a mark on the team. Emma Lumb, Lauren Bell, and Mady Villiers are yet to make their ODI debut.
The variety and the depth within the bowling attack will be a good thing as they can tweak their combination around as they would like. They have a lot of pace bowlers to make up a 4-1 attack on the wickets known for pace. If the pitches seem used and aids spin, they could also look at a 3-2 combination bringing spinners into play. The quality is there so both these combinations can be equally threatening.
“In the past selection meetings have by necessity been quite focused on the Centrally Contracted group, but the fact that so many other players are sticking their hand up and pushing for selection is testament to the progress the domestic structure is allowing the women’s game to make.”
While both players have been added predominantly for their batting, Dean’s off-spin will likely be utilized through the middle overs. Taking 1/29 from ten overs for England A against New Zealand in a tour match, Dean also made 22 with the bat, coming in at number four.
Amidst the COVID-19 lockdown situation in England, the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced that twenty-four players England women’s team will resume individual skills-based training. They will resume practice on June 22 before a tri-series between South Africa and India.
Meanwhile, ECB had earlier announced that Men’s cricket will be prioritized over women’s cricket fixtures. The decision comes as they look to alleviate the financial impact caused by COVID-19 as much as possible. However, we might soon see some women’s fixtures take place as the players will be returning to training.
Three out of the 24 players announced include Heather Knight, Nat Sciver, and Sophie Ecclestone. They will train across six different venues under bio-secure conditions that are in line with the men’s squad. Notably, the men's squad has also returned to training and will play West Indies in a three-match Test series. At first, the training will be done individually which will later convert to smaller groups as days progress.
According to a report published on BBC’s official website, Kia Motors will become the sole title sponsor of England’s home Test matches over the next two years. The first of those is against India next month, followed by the Women’s Ashes Test against Australia next summer. The Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation’s latest research showed that only 0.4 percent of commercial investment goes to women’s sports. In this term, the current deal is a major breakthrough.
British Sports Minister Helen Grant praised the ECB and England players for securing the “ground-breaking partnership”. Other sponsorship arrangements with the women’s team have been part of deals with the entire England set-up. Former captain Clare Connor, and now the ECB’s head of women’s cricket, said, “Major global brands want to be associated with winners, and it is fantastic that the team’s outstanding performances on the field and growing media profile have enabled the England women’s cricket to earn their first-ever standalone commercial deal.”
Chief executive Ruth Holdaway applauded Kia’s stance and called for other companies to be “brave” and invest in women’s sports. She told, “When the figures are laid bare it becomes apparent how shocking it is and how women’s sport is lacking in support even though the women are so successful and are such amazing role models. A deal like this is critically important to changing that and showing what can be achieved.”
The 22-year-old Sophia Dunkley from Surrey made her T20 international debut in 2018 against Bangladesh during the ICC World T20 held in West Indies and since then has featured in 15 T20Is for England. An enterprising right-hand batter and a bouncy leg spinner, the Surrey star first rose to prominence in the Kia Super League. Last year, she became one of England’s first 24 professional women’s domestic cricketers when she signed for the newly formed South East Stars in the ECB’s women’s elite domestic structure.
Dunkley has been around in the professional circuit for close to a decade and has made her debut for Middlesex in 2012 in a T20 Cup match against Sussex. She was a regular feature at Middlesex over the following seasons and took part in various England Development Programmes. Over a period of time, the swashbuckling batter became one of Middlesex’s prolific performers, winning the club’s Player of the Year award in 2017 and 2019. She smashed a couple of centuries in the 2019 Women’s County Championship and ended the season as the tournament’s highest run-getter. She played in every season of the Women’s Cricket Super League, from 2016 to 2018 for Surrey Stars and in 2019 for Lancashire Thunder. In February 2020, she left Middlesex to join Surrey.
Jonathan Finch, the Director of England Women’s Cricket, said, “We’re pleased to confirm a strong group of Centrally Contracted England Women’s cricketers ahead of a really exciting two years for Lisa, Heather, and the team. The Central Contracts, along with the roll-out of professional women’s domestic contracts, provide a fantastic opportunity to develop a larger pool of players pushing for selection and help strive for success on the field for England Women. We’ve continued to work closely with the England Women’s Player Partnership (EWPP) and the PCA to establish a comprehensive and objective process that underpins the awarding of Central Contracts. We will keep working in collaboration for the benefit of the players as we continue to grow and develop the professional women’s game.”
England is all set to take on West Indies in the 7th ODI of the ongoing Women’s World Cup 2022 edition on March 9, 2022, at the University Park in Dunedin. Both teams have had a contrasting start to the World Cup so far with West Indies pulled off a thriller against New Zealand in the opening clash of the tournament by just 3 runs. Meanwhile, England could not get over the line against Australia in their opening game and lost by just 12 runs. The defending champions will start as favorites going by their numbers in the big tournaments and also with the amount of experience they have got in.
England has clearly dominated in the meeting between the two sides in 22 ODI games so far. However, West Indies have started to show some fights at times. The Women in Blue have managed to win on 15 occasions in ODIs while West Indies have won five times and two times, there have been no results in ODIs. However, when it comes to World cups, it has been one-way traffic with England winning all four games that have been played between the sides.
Tammy Beaumont has the most number of runs in the meetings between these two sides among the active cricketers as she has scored 360 runs in 15 games at an average of 36 with two half-centuries. Heather Knight is second on the list with 346 runs in 10 games at an average of 43.25 and she has two half-centuries as well. Katherine Brunt has the most wickets against England with 21 wickets in 15 games at an average of 15.38.
The last World Cup meeting between these two sides took place in 2017 at the Gloucteshire county ground in Bristol. England batted first and posted 220 on the board for the loss of seven wickets with skipper Heather Knight’s 67 being the top scorer for England. Tammy Beaumont scored a valiant 42 at the top while Laura Marsh’s 19-ball 31 gave the much-needed impetus towards the end. Afy Fletcher picked up three wickets for West Indies and went on to be the pick of the bowlers. In reply, the West Indies side got to just 128 with no batter going crossing the 30-run mark while Nat Sciver had some outstanding figures of 3 for 3.
The England Cricket Board (ECB) has announced the England women’s squads to play India and South Africa this summer. England is due to host India from 13th-16th August in a one-off Kia Women’s test match with Charlotte Edwards at the helm. The test game will be followed by a three-game Royal London One Day International series – part of the first round of the new ICC Women’s Championship. As part of the announcement, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) named the international squads to face India and South Africa this summer. The women will also compete against South Africa in three Natwest Twenty20 internationals in September.
Yorkshire fast bowler Katherine Brunt, who was sidelined during the team’s momentous Ashes victory in Perth at the beginning of the year, is a valuable addition to the Royal London ODI and Natwest T20I squads. During a media breakfast, she said: “It’s not been nice at all and it’s just great to be back. All I want to do is go out, enjoy myself and help win some games.”
England women’s captain, Charlotte Edwards was joined by several members of the England women’s team following the announcement at 8.00 am. She said: “We’re looking forward to India arriving and focussing on a positive result on the test match next week. The test match is next week, which I’m really looking forward to. Hopefully, there are a few more years left, especially with lots of exciting, big tournaments coming up, the ashes next summer, and the 2017 World Cup.” Edwards is a huge role model for aspirational as well as established cricketers, with even her teammates selecting her as their favorite player.
The captain offered sound advice for anyone seeking to emulate her achievements: “Try to play as match as you can at the school level, I think that’s really important. There’s lots of cricket being played now in inner cities and all over the country. We’ve just had 1 million girls go through the Chance to Shine scheme, which is fantastic. It’s just about motivating oneself to get down there, and even if it’s with boys and men’s cricket, to get involved. We have over 600 cricket teams in England now that offer girls' and women’s cricket, so I don’t think there’s any excuse for anyone not to get involved now.”
England’s bowling unit will be further bolstered in the NatWest T20I series against South Africa by the return of Kent’s young left-arm seamer Natasha Farrant, who missed the recent ICC World Twenty20 tournament in Bangladesh through injury. Farrant, 18 is the youngest player in the squad and she is in the Twenty20 squad. Farrant’s greatest influence is her older brother Charlie: “I have two older brothers and the amount of time Charlie spent in the nets with me was phenomenal. He singlehandedly started my career.” Farrant’s cricketing inspirations are Jimmy Anderson, Charlotte Edwards, and Michael Holding. She also offered advice to young cricketers: “Whenever you can just go out and play, it’s the easiest thing to do. Don’t get hung up on facilities, just play as it’s also a great way to make friends.”
ECC Head of England Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor, said: “The three squads for the series against India and South Africa have been selected from a position of real strength, and I am delighted that both Katherine Brunt and Natasha Farrant will return to international action this summer.” “Appointed to the role of vice-captain, Heather Knight now has the opportunity to learn from the most experienced international captain in the world as she works alongside Charlotte Edwards to help lead the England women’s team at the start of a new professional era for the women’s game.”
Warwickshire’s left-arm spinner Rebecca Grundy has been included in the Kia Women’s Test and Royal London ODI squads for the first time, having made her international debut and impressed with her performances in Bangladesh. Right-arm medium pace bowler, Sonia Odedra from Nottinghamshire, has also been called up to the Test squad for the first time after Sussex’s Georgia Elwiss has been ruled out of action for the rest of the summer with a broken hand.
“If you’d asked 18 months ago whether we’d be on prime time TV on a Saturday night and 2.6 million viewers tuned in and we’d be playing in a capacity crowd with the majority of English fans over there, I think we’d say ‘are you joking?’ It is disappointing to have lost but we’re immensely proud of seeing and reading some of the messages about how we’ve inspired a generation and the nation has been gripped by our story and the World Cup final and hopefully inspiring that next generation of Red Roses to want to play,” Sarah Hunter said.
Following the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, central England in July and August, where a women's T20 tournament forms part of the multi-sport event, and the second edition of English domestic cricket's Hundred short-form tournament, India will visit for the second English season in a row.
The Test will be played at the Bristol County Ground from June 16-19, kicking off the England team's summer. The match was first confirmed by BCCI Secretary Jay Shah earlier this year but the exact date and venue were unveiled by the host board on Tuesday.
While the Indian women's team will take part in a Test for the first time since 2014, England last played a red-ball game during the 2019 Ashes. The one-off Test will be followed by three ODIs and T20Is each with the tour concluding on July 15 in Chelmsford.
After announcing its home fixtures, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive officer Tom Harrison, said: "We're really looking forward to a busy summer in what is a huge year for our England Women's team, and we're very excited about hosting India and New Zealand."The two international series will sit either side of The Hundred, and with the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the new Regional T20 competition running throughout the summer, it's a fixture list that offers a lot for both our players and our fans.
"With the 2022 ICC Women's World Cup around the corner it is of paramount importance that our England team is able to prepare accordingly, and with the team, also due to travel to Pakistan in October we can look forward to an exciting 12 months of international women's cricket."Following the engagements against India, The Hundred will take place, after which the England women's side will face New Zealand in three T20Is and five ODIs respectively, in September.
England Women has thoroughly outplayed India in all the departments to ensure an uplifting victory by 4 wickets in Match 15th of the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022. England comfortably chased down 135 runs in 31.2 overs to stay alive in the tournament after conceding three consecutive defeats in their first three matches. India still failed to avenge the humiliating loss suffered in the finals of the Women’s World Cup 2017.
The final of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy will take place at the Ground for the first time 24 hours later on Sunday 25 September. These two matches contribute to an increase in the number of playing opportunities for female cricketers at Lord’s from 2021.
The publication of the full fixture list for the 2022 summer at Lord’s see matches sitting alongside the men’s international fixtures, The Hundred men’s and women’s matches, and Middlesex men’s domestic matches which had already been announced.
Amongst a range of matches, the Club will host a T20 Double Header against the National Asian Cricket Council (NACC) whilst the Armed Forces Twenty20 Cricket Day returns to Lord’s this year. Both these days include men’s and women’s matches, as does the Oxford v Cambridge fixture, which will be the first time the men’s and women’s sides will both play on the Main Ground.
The fixture between the two Universities, as well as the Eton v Harrow match, will no longer be played as regular annual fixtures at Lord’s after 2022. This move aims to further MCC's goal to broaden the scope of the fixture list, extending playing opportunities at Lord’s to a wider range of players. We would like to thank all four institutions for their support and co-operation, and we look forward to hosting them in June.
Clare Connor, MCC President, said: “I am delighted that Lord’s will host the finale of both the women’s international and domestic summers on 24 and 25 September respectively. For those England and India players who were involved in that thrilling ICC Women’s World Cup final of 2017, they can once again go head-to-head at the Home of Cricket.
“Perhaps even more significant than this, Lord’s will host its first women’s domestic final the following day, showcasing our very best female talent in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. From my own personal perspective, I couldn’t think of a more fitting way to end the 2022 summer for women’s cricket in this country. “And prior to this final weekend of action, I am thrilled that the 2022 fixture list will provide female players with more playing opportunities than ever before at the Home of Cricket. These are such exciting times for women and girls in our sport and MCC is proudly at the forefront of creating those opportunities.”
Despite finishing third in the tri-series involving Australia and India, England is a strong contender to challenge for the title as the Women's T20 World Cup gets underway in Australia. Led by Heather Knight, England pack a punch across departments and has one of the best sides heading into the World Cup. There's an overdose of talented players on the team and their chances might come down to how well they use what's available to them.
Amy Jones was impressed in the Big Bash season with 391 runs including three half-centuries for Perth Scorchers. She knows the conditions well having plied her trade in the WBBL just like her opening partner, Wyatt. For Melbourne Renegades, Wyatt slammed 468 runs at an average of 39, finishing as the seventh-highest run-scorer in the league.
A key part of England's line-up is Nat Sciver. The all-rounder missed the final warm-up game against Sri Lanka with a knee injury and although she has been touted to return before the first game England play, there are concerns surrounding her injury. The all-rounder is a vital member of England's plans for the T20 World Cup and has helped balance the team. She isn't regularly filling up her quota of overs which remains another concern given how the knee injury could further dampen her all-around qualities.
Connor said, “Those same individualized return to training protocols will apply to the women’s players. We’re looking to follow a very similar phased approach from later on in June so we’ll probably be three to four weeks behind the England men’s players. That’s not through any lesser importance being placed on them but more of a reality of who’s likely to play first and where we need to focus the immediate attention and physical and medical support. At least it will give our players, support staff, and medical staff a chance to learn from how all that unfolds with the men.”
| Opponent | Final Score | Overs | Result (Won/Lost) |
| Australia | 163 | 49.3 overs | Lost |
| Australia | 129 | 45.2 overs | Lost |
| Australia | 178 | 45 overs | Lost |
| New Zealand | 347/5 | 50 overs | Won |
| New Zealand | 245/7 | 49.3 overs | Won |
| New Zealand | 178 | 48.3 overs | Lost |
| New Zealand | 197 | 43.3 overs | Won |
| New Zealand | 241 | 49.3 overs | Won |
| India | 219 | 47 overs | Lost |
| India | 225/5 | 47.3 overs | Won |
