As we now stand days away from witnessing cricket during the Commonwealth Games, developments have started to pace up. The latest on the same is that host nation England has revealed their 15 for the Commonwealth Games that gets underway on the 29th of this month (July). Putting the word out straight, it’s a very interesting mix of youth and experienced ones named in the English 15.
ENGLAND’S SQUAD FOR THE GAMES :
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.
Surprising omissions from the squad have come in Charlie Dean, who’s been on an excellent run for England since her ODI debut and looked a lot more mature and impressive during her World Cup campaign, did deserve a place in the squad and has been one of England’s go-to bowler who’s helped the side get many breakthroughs. Another one is a big one that of experienced, Tammy Beaumont who’s yes been short of runs, but this is a very brave call being made.
England’s 15 Member squad is announced for Commonwealth Games.
Maiden international call-ups for teenagers Alice Capsey and Freya Kemp. #CricketTwitter #TeamEngland pic.twitter.com/EKpr66tT9a
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 16, 2022
On Tammy Beaumont’s omission, the head coach stated, “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.”
Maia Bouchier, middle order option for England who’s made it to the mix having featured only in 3 games, she’d made her debut last summer against New Zealand, but during her A-game appearances, she’s been very promising. Bryony Smith is likely to take the top spot that’s vacant with the omission of Tammy Beaumont. Bryony having debuted for England back in 2018 will now be making a comeback to the international arena on the back of strong A game and domestic performances, she’s also a very valuable asset with ball in hand. As it remains with England, it is a strong batting line-up with the likes of Heather Knight, Danni Wyatt, Nat Sciver, Amy Jones and Sophia Dunkley.
Alongside Katherine Brunt the senior pro and Freya Davies a regular feature for England in white-ball games, there’s an uncapped teen star from last year’s inaugural, The Hundred Alice Capsey and an uncapped domestic star Frey Kemp who’ve also made the cut. Issy Wong who’s in the middle of an unforgettable summer having made her Test and One-Day debuts in a few days gap, now gets more gold come her way as she’s in line for a T20I debut after being announced in the squad for the Games. Sophie Ecclestone has her spin twin, Sarah Glenn back at near best after a dip in form. Experienced, Kate Cross who hasn’t been part of the English T20I squad having played her last in 2019 has also been named.
On a very likely debutant, Alice Capsey, Lisa stated, “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.”
England’s head coach, Lisa Keightley quoted, “We feel that is our best squad and the way we have approached it, we want to be quite aggressive up top. 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.”
England plays three T20I games on 21, 23 and 25 against South Africa as part of their ongoing multi-format series before heading into the Commonwealth Games. England are placed in group B where they play Sri Lanka on the 30th of July, South Africa on the 2nd of August and New Zealand on the 4th of August.
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