As England embark on another Ashes adventure, the selectors have opted heavily for experience. In a squad of 14, there was little room left for sentiment, youthful aspiration or chance-taking. Only one player who appeared in the England A team this week, Fran Wilson, has found favour.
England’s Ashes Squad with appearances:
|
T |
ODI |
T20 |
|
|
|
Heather Knight (Berkshire, captain) |
6 |
89 |
57 |
|
|
Tammy Beaumont (Kent) |
3 |
59 |
66 |
|
|
Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire) |
11 |
111 |
66 |
|
|
Kate Cross (Lancashire) |
1 |
15 |
8 |
|
|
Sophie Ecclestone (Lancashire) |
0 |
16 |
17 |
|
|
Jenny Gunn (Nottinghamshire) |
11 |
138 |
101 |
|
|
Amy Jones (Warwickshire) |
0 |
35 |
35 |
|
|
Laura Marsh (Kent) |
7 |
92 |
62 |
|
| Nat Sciver (Surrey) |
4 |
55 |
59 |
|
|
Anya Shrubsole (Berkshire) |
5 |
57 |
62 |
|
|
Sarah Taylor (Sussex, wicketkeeper) |
9 |
121 |
87 |
|
|
Fran Wilson (Kent) |
1 |
19 |
11 |
|
|
Lauren Winfield (Yorkshire) |
1 |
22 |
14 |
|
|
Danni Wyatt (Sussex) |
0 |
64 |
92 |
|
T = tests
ODI = One Day Internationals
T20 = 20-over match
They include nine who can turn their arm over, but only two front-line spinners, though the skipper and Wyatt can both help out.
The three leading pace bowlers, Brunt, Shrubsole and Cross, have all had fine moments this season, though not at the same time. It would be nice to see them knocking Aussie stumps over in strict alternation. The hope must be that the support seamers, Gunn and Sciver, aren’t needed on a regular basis. If they are, then they’ll need to keep up their talent for wheedling batters out.
As for wicket-keepers, there is an excess of riches. Imagine Taylor and Jones both being absent injured (no, don’t!), Beaumont could still do a tidy job for her team.
Australian strengths hardly need stressing. The batters include some of the very best in the world (Lanning, Perry, Healy, Haynes and Mooney, etc), and bowlers like Jonassen, Schutt and Perry demand the closest attention. One of the biggest challenges of the current Ashes format is the ability to switch from one format to another. This is where the squad’s experience will prove invaluable. Most of us have never known what it’s like to turn from a 3-hour game of cricket to a 4-day – and never will. Fortunately, the list above shows that all but three of the England squad have lived through a 4-day game.This should prove to be a riveting series. But when have the Ashes not been riveting?
