From making her debut at the age of 17 in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) to becoming the world number one by the age of 20, England’s Sophie Ecclestone has firmly established herself as one of the greatest left-arm spinners in cricket history.
Ecclestone, a renowned left-arm spinner, known for her accuracy and consistency, has been playing for Cheshire since 2013. She was spotted by Lancashire and signed for them in 2015, making her top-level debut as a 16-year-old that year against Nottinghamshire in Division 1 of the Women’s County Championship.
Sophie was subsequently called up by the national women’s team coach Mark Robinson into the England squad to face Pakistan in the T20I series in July 2016 and on debut returned figures of 1/21 in her four overs. Since her debut, the left-arm spinner has constantly worked on her skill set, becoming known for her accurate bowling, often compared to the tall Kiwi spinner Daniel Vettori.
The left-arm spinner had an excellent run the year after she made her debut, including in the 2017 Ashes Test, where she made her Test debut, followed by winning the ICC Women’s Emerging Player of the Year award. It was in 2020 that she became the number one T20I bowler, a rank she holds to date.
Sophie then played a pivotal role in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 held in Australia, claiming eight wickets in four matches at an average of 6.12 and an astonishing economy rate of 3.23. She was also part of the ICC Team of the Tournament in that edition. Her quality with the ball is beyond doubt, but Sophie is also a dangerous and powerful lower-order batter. Ecclestone has played in all the big events, including the Ashes and World Cups, and has also featured in franchise events around the globe.
The English spinner took 20 wickets in the 2023 thrilling multi-format Ashes series. Currently, she is the number one bowler in T20Is as well as One Day Internationals (ODIs). Sophie is currently part of England’s home series against New Zealand and followed up her two wickets in the series opener with a five-wicket haul in her most recent outing, the second ODI.