England Women have announced their squad of thirteen ahead of their must-win Test Match against Australia.
Heather Knight will captain the side whilst the squad sees Sussex all-rounder Georgia Elwiss and Nottinghamshire spinner Kirstie Gordon come into the side following England’s one-day international defeats to Australia.
Gordon, 21, has only featured in five T20 internationals for England so far and therefore could be in line for a potential Test debut.
The 21-year-old played a significant role in England’s World T20 campaign in 2018 as she secured eight wickets in her five matches.
Meanwhile, Elwiss, despite missing the one-day international matches, comes into the Test squad with recent experience of playing against Australia. It follows her featuring for England Academy Women in warm-up matches against the Australians before the official one-day internationals.
Danni Wyatt, Jenny Gunn and Fran Wilson are the three to miss out from making England’s Test side after featuring in the one-day squad. Wyatt and Gunn will feature for England Women’s Academy against Australia A and Ireland. Meanwhile, Fran Wilson will be joined by Lancashire spinner Alex Hartley in remaining with the Test squad as cover.
In the multi-format series England lost all three one-day internationals to their Australian counterparts and as a result see themselves 6-0 down in the series. With a win in the solitary Test Match worth four points it is a must-win match for England if they are to have any chance of regaining the Ashes.
The importance of this fixture was a factor not lost on Knight whose side must win this Test match before winning all three of the following T20 matches.
“It’s obviously a very important match for us and we need to win it to stay in the series,” Knight said.
“The beauty of the multi-format points series means we’re still very much in the battle, a normal bilateral series that finished like the ODIs would have been finished but we can get back to 6-4 with a win in the Test match and that’s exciting.”
England’s Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones and Nat Sciver go into the Test Match on the back of hundreds against Australia A as England hope they can replicate that form in their Test match at Taunton starting July 18.
“The warm-up at Millfield was ideal. We saw batters get runs and spend time in the middle and the bowlers performed well to bowl out the opposition twice on a flat one. We’re raring to go again to get back into the Ashes.”
England Women’s full Test squad to face Australia
Heather Knight (Berkshire, captain)
Tammy Beaumont (Kent)
Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire)
Kate Cross (Lancashire)
Sophie Ecclestone (Lancashire)
Georgia Elwiss (Sussex)
Kirstie Gordon (Nottinghamshire)
Amy Jones (Warwickshire)
Laura Marsh (Kent)
Nat Sciver (Surrey)
Anya Shrubsole (Berkshire)
Sarah Taylor (Sussex, wicket-keeper)
Lauren Winfield (Yorkshire)
