England have named uncapped duo Lauren Filer and Danielle Gibson in their squad for this month’s Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge.
Seamer Filer and all-rounder Gibson, both 22, are the surprise names in a 15-player squad having been rewarded for their fine domestic form at Western Storm, where they are captained by England skipper Heather Knight.
“Dani is one of the form cricketers in the country, she is improving with both bat and ball and, if selected, offers us a dynamic cricketer who can change the momentum of the game,” head coach Jon Lewis said. “Lauren is a genuine wicket-taking threat with good pace and swing. Again, if selected, she offers us a point of difference in our bowling attack.”
Teenager Alice Capsey is also in line for a Test debut having become a staple in England’s white-ball sides, while batter Dani Wyatt will hope to win her first Test cap having played almost 250 times for her country across limited-overs formats.
In all, there are six players included with no previous Ashes experience, fast-bowlers Lauren Bell and Issy Wong having made debuts in all three formats since the last series, while Alice Davidson-Richards earns a first crack having marked her international return with a century in last summer’s Test draw with South Africa.
Lewis has opted for a seam-heavy squad, with Sophie Ecclestone the sole frontline spinner and no place for the likes of Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn, though both will expect to feature later in the white-ball legs of the series.
Lauren Winfield-Hill, who opened the batting in the last Women’s Ashes Test in Australia 18 months ago, also misses out and will instead captain a strong England ‘A’ side against Australia in a three-day warm-up at Leicestershire from Thursday, with Wyatt, Davidson-Richards, Dean, Glenn and Freya Davies all set to be involved. Knight’s team will play their own equivalent against Australia ‘A’ at Derbyshire at the same time.
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Both sides will then head to Nottingham for the five-day Test which marks the start of a multi-format Ashes series running concurrently to the men’s.
The Test, starting on June 22, is vital to England’s chances of regaining the Ashes. The match is worth four points, with each of the subsequent three T20Is and three ODIs worth only two each, meaning that if Australia were to win the Test, they would need to win only two of the six white-ball matches to retain the trophy.