Staged on 16 and 17 November at the AO Arena in Manchester and then a reverse leg on 25 and 26 November at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston, Jamaica, England will take on the Jamaican Sunshine Girls in a home and away format in what is set to be an incredible showcase of international netball between the world ranked two and four nations.

14 of the squad from the Vitality Roses’ recent tour to Australia and New Zealand, which saw England defeat world number one Australia on home soil for only the third time ever and win the Taini Jamison Trophy against then world number two New Zealand in the first two test matches for the first time in history, have been named in the squad to face Jamaica. Meanwhile, Halimat Adio has also been named in the squad via the P3 route, by which athletes not able to be in the full time Vitality Roses programme due to work or academia can be considered for selection.

Eleanor Cardwell (due to injury), Jasmine Brown (due to injury) and Nat Metcalf (managing a medical matter) were not available for selection.

Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby commented: “To have established a new groundbreaking series against Jamaica will not only prove valuable to our own preparations for the Netball World Cup in 2027 and beyond but also adds what will be a hotly anticipated series to the international calendar between two nations with aspirations to challenge the world order in the years to come.

“The history between our two nations speaks for itself. In recent years we have enjoyed series wins at home, but we are under no illusion that this new format, involving playing away in Jamaica, poses very different challenges and that the Sunshine Girls have arguably the best shooter and defensive unit in world netball right now. This is exactly why we want to play them and to do this so soon after playing both Australia and New Zealand allows us to continue that momentum against another world-leading team.

“A third of our selected team have never played against Jamaica before and the remainder of the squad have only done so between one to five times, so this will be a brilliant opportunity for us to strengthen both our understanding and experience of the dynamic Jamaican style of play, full of flair, speed and athleticism. I’m really looking forward to what will be an incredible match up.”

Meanwhile, a 10-strong squad has been selected to represent the Vitality Roses at the FAST5 Netball World Series in Christchurch, New Zealand from 9-10 November.

FAST5 is a shorter, faster-paced version of the game with five players on each side. England, who finished in third place last year, will come up against the other sides ranked in the world’s top six nations: Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, South Africa and Uganda. The six teams will go head-to-head in preliminary matches before competing for final placings on the last day.

The squad includes a mix of Vitality Roses and Future Roses, marking the first call up to a senior England squad for Future Roses Sophie Egbaran, Harriet Jones, Sophie Kelly, Isabella Phillips and Emma Rayner.

Vitality Rose Paige Reed returns to the competition for the third time after picking up the Player of the Series award in 2023. Jayda Pechova also returns following the 2023 tournament, as do Zara Everitt, Tash Pavelin and Alicia Scholes who all represented England at the FAST5 World Series in 2022. 

Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby commented: “Our FAST5 selection sees an exciting mix of Vitality Roses and Future Roses take to the global stage, some for the first time, and they will get to compete against very credible line-ups in the opposing teams. This has proven so valuable over the last few years, helping to accelerate some of our brightest talent into Vitality Roses teams today and allowing for much needed positional exposure and development. The FAST5 environment is always well supported and hosted in big arenas and so exposes players to conditions akin to those they aspire to be a part of in the future.” 

Roses Pathway Head Coach Sonia Mkoloma added: “What an exciting opportunity we have for the athletes selected for the FAST5 tournament to showcase their talent on the international stage in front of a fun and passionate New Zealand crowd. 

“The squad is made up of a nice mixture of experienced players from the Vitality Roses environment and players from within the Future Roses squad, who for some it will be their first time on the senior international stage. I know it will be a great experience for the players as they will be challenged and will learn more about themselves under the pressures of the modified game. I’m looking forward to seeing them all step up and perform in the red dress.”  

Finally, a 12-player squad has been revealed confirming who will play two behind closed doors fixtures as England A on Tuesday 12 and Thursday 14 November in Manchester. Featuring a mix of Vitality Roses and Future Roses this squad will face Zimbabwe and Scotland, providing vital experience.

Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby commented: “To have secured England A fixtures against both Scotland and Zimbabwe allows for nearly all of our athletes across both our Vitality Roses and Future Roses programmes to get some valuable match minutes in the red dress, from experienced Vitality Roses to those athletes on the road to the Netball World Youth Cup next year in Gibraltar. We believe that there is so much for each individual to gain from these fixtures, including positional development, exposure against two very different styles of play and more time on task for our less experienced players or those returning from injury. England A fixtures have proven so important in us uncovering new talent over the years and so we are really looking forward to these matches.”

Tickets for the Vitality Netball Horizon Series are available to purchase here.  

For more information about the FAST5 Netball World Series including broadcast plans, visit their website. 

Details on the broadcast plans for the Vitality Netball Horizon Series will be announced nearer to the time. 

The full list of fixtures and timings are as follows:  

Vitality Netball Horizon Series 

Saturday 16 November, 16:00 – AO Arena, Manchester 

Sunday 17 November, 14:00 – AO Arena, Manchester 

Monday 25 November, time to be confirmed – National Indoor Sports Centre, Kingston, Jamaica 

Tuesday 26 November, time to be confirmed – National Indoor Sports Centre, Kingston, Jamaica 

FAST5 Netball World Series 

Friday 8 November, 23:30 (GMT) Saturday 9 November, 12:30 (NZDT) England vs. South Africa

Saturday 9 November, 2:30 (GMT) 15:30 (NZDT) England vs. Jamaica

Saturday 9 November, 5:45 (GMT) 18:45 (NZDT) England vs. Uganda

Sunday 10 November, 0:30 (GMT) 13:30 (NZDT) New Zealand vs. England

Sunday 10 November, 2:00 (GMT) 15:00 (NZDT) Australia vs. England

Sunday 10 November, 4:40 (GMT) 17:40 (NZDT) 5th/6th play off

Sunday 10 November, 5:30 (GMT) 18:30 (NZDT) 3rd/4th play off

Sunday 10 November, 7:10 (GMT) 20:10 (NZDT) Final

England A 

Tuesday 12 November, England A vs. Zimbabwe, behind closed doors

Thursday 14 November, England A vs. Scotland, behind closed doors 

With thanks to England Netball

Off-spinner Charlie Dean will captain the 13-player group who will travel to India on Sunday.

After a fortnight-long training camp in Oman, the squad will fine-tune their preparations in Mumbai ahead of three IT20 fixtures taking place on Wednesday 29 November, Friday 1 December and Sunday 3 December at the Wankhede Stadium.

Alice Davidson-Richards withdrew from the squad and remained in the UK following a family bereavement while Thunder’s Liberty Heap has returned home after fracturing her clavicle. She will see a specialist to plan next stages of her treatment.

Tash Farrant will remain in Oman with the England Women senior group as she continues her return to competitive bowling.

Leading the England Women A squad as head coach for the A series in India, as he has done across the preparation phase in Oman, is fielding and wicket keeping performance coach Michael Bates.

England Women A squad to play India A

Hollie Armitage (Northern Diamonds)
Hannah Baker (Central Sparks)
Charlie Dean (captain; Southern Vipers)
Lauren Filer (Western Storm)
Mahika Gaur (Thunder)
Kirstie Gordon (The Blaze)
Freya Kemp (Southern Vipers)
Ryana MacDonald-Gay (South East Stars)
Grace Scrivens (Sunrisers)
Seren Smale (Thunder)
Rhianna Southby (Southern Vipers)
Mady Villiers (Sunrisers)
Issy Wong (Central Sparks)

Meanwhile, Georgia Davis, Grace Potts (both Central Sparks), Kalea Moore (South East Stars) and Sophie Munro (The Blaze) will remain in Oman to train with the England Women senior group to continue to build on their development experiences before returning to the UK on 2 December.

England Women A head coach Michael Bates said: “We’re all thoroughly looking forward to the forthcoming T20 fixtures in India.

“We’ve enjoyed a very productive camp in Oman; the group have trained well, worked hard and really come together as a team.

“It’s been brilliant exposure for the England Women A players to have the opportunity to work alongside the England Women performance coaches as well as integrating with the senior players. It’s brought another element to our preparation and has enhanced the growth of the group.

“These three fixtures against India A will be a great way of testing our skills and our ability to compete and will undoubtedly provide another exciting learning opportunity for the players.”

With thanks to the ECB

Teams: the two staffs agreed to include 12 each, but only 11 on the field at a time.

Australia:
Tahlia Wilson, Maddie Darke, Heather Graham (captain), Charli Knott, Tess Flintoff, Courtney Webb, Nicole Faltum (wk), Maitlan Brown, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Courtney Sippel, Lauren Cheatle

England:
Bryony Smith (vice-captain), Emma Lamb, Grace Scrivens (captain), Hollie Armitage, Paige Scholfield, Georgia Adams, Bess Heath (wk), Alice Davidson-Richards, Kirstie Gordon, Issy Wong, Linsey Smith, Ryana MacDonald-Gay

The Game

This second-level competition has been thoroughly topsy-turvy. England walked off with the T20 series 3-0 at Loughborough, but today at Guildford they completed a 0-3 turn-round. Who can understand cricket?

The English X!! Was a mixture of the New Generation, led by the 19-year-old captain, alongside some of maturer years. They simply couldn’t perform with the consistency needed to see off a talented Aussie group.

But importantly, Grace Scrivens took her chance to prove her worth as a player, not just captain. She top-scored with a patient 87, as three others in the top five failed to get off the mark. Bryony Smith started as if this was a T20, hitting the ball immensely hard on the pull and the square drive. But it was almost inevitable that that approach couldn’t last. She made 23 in 17 balls with no fewer than 5 fours. The trouble was that the rest of the top order didn’t do themselves justice.

Lamb, Armitage and Scholfield all fell for a total of six deliveries, all to the ever improving Lauren Cheatle with her left-arm over quicks.

From there on it was a case of rebuilding.

But the total of 292 the Australians had compiled demanded a good start, a sound development and a fruitful conclusion. England couldn’t manage all three.

Scrivens and Georgia Adams (40) put on a creditable 122 for the fifth wicket, but Adam’s share shows that even she found the going tough till its later stages. Bess Heath played an innings in the image of Bryony Smith, only longer (41/39). Her performance will have done her future chances no harm at all. Alice Davidson-Richards (26) is full of amusing histrionics, managing to damage her foot early on, but she stuck to her task and hit some fine shots to keep the innings moving.

But the required run-rate never reduced to gettable margins. Cheatle completed an outstanding return of 8-1-28-5 to ensure victory by 34 runs. Only her captain, Heather Graham, could match her for economy of under 4 per over.

Against that, none of the English, not even Linsey Smith, who was again the pick, could maintain their consistency under a barrage from flailing bats.

The 292

In those opening overs the English bowling was a big disappointment. The much vaunted Issy Wong started with two wides in three balls, and none of the quicker bowlers found a length and line to contain well organised batters.

Once Wong had disposed of Maddie Darke (9), Tahlia Wilson (81) and Graham (54, 3 x 6) added 107 at a rate. From there, the hosts couldn’t find a way of forcing a collapse. The score mounted past 200 with Courtney Webb adding 51, and the innings finally halted in the 50th over, with the scoreboards nearly reaching 300.

Who decides?

It would be interesting to know how far Jon Batty determined the captain’s bowling choices pre- match. For example, neither Georgia Adams nor Scrivens turned their arm, though Adams has proved a useful partnership-breaker.

Equally, a youngster like Ryana MacDonald-Gay was employed exclusively as a bowler, though she has some justified pretensions as a batter.

And how often has Adams appeared in the batting order after Scholfield (here, 6 and 5 respectively)? If she had come in earlier, England might well not have suffered that crippling early tumble of wickets (30-4 in 5 overs). Scholfield has been used as an all-rounder anyway.

Result:
Australia 292 (Wilson 81 Graham 54)
England 258 (Scrivens 87, Cheatle 5-28) Australia win by 34 runs to take the series 3-0

A fascinating background

The new structures set up by Clare Connor are still throwing up novelties. As the A team was facing the Aussies once again, four RHF Trophy games were taking place across the country.

This led to all sorts of unexpectable team-lists.

Lauren Winfield-Hill appeared for Northern Diamonds, while South-East Stars were scratching around to compose an Eleven (I exaggerate ever so slightly). Dane van Niekerk captained Sunrisers to victory over Southern Vipers (though she scored only 8 herself).

Fortunately, the number of overseas players was limited to a very few.

This gives golden chances to many young players who would not have found a place if the full England and England A sides had not been occupied with weightier matters. Good may well come from this competition, but it will take the staffs a lot of video watching and note-exchanging to assess relative form.

First and foremost, it’s the squad for the first match only (see below).

Second, the captaincy is given to Grace Scrivens. That is a signal honour for her, not least when you consider the alternatives. Both Georgia Adams and Bryony Smith have earned high praise for their control of events in the past season or two. Both have won trophies.

For anyone doubting Scrivens’ right to the position, I suggest they look at the last over of the U19 World Cup semi-final against a team called Australia in Potchefstroom. You can find my written verdict @ http://4theloveofsport.co.uk/2023/01/27/unbearable-tension-australia-v-england/.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer, but Scrivens has obviously convinced the powers-that-be that she’s worth the risk.

The bowling line-up is fascinating. Not a quick bowler in sight; the fastest on offer is probably Eva Gray, but there is a wealth of alternatives for the skipper to choose from.

The wicket-keeper is not indicated in the listing, but we can safely assume it’s Bess Heath who gets the nod.

The Australians were a disappointment in those Haslegrave games. As of 10.59, 28 June they haven’t announced their squad. It would be wise to assume they will be stirred to action this time round.

The England A Squad:

Georgia Adams (Southern Vipers)
Hollie Armitage (Northern Diamonds)
Hannah Baker (Central Sparks)
Alice Davidson-Richards (South East Stars)
Kirstie Gordon (The Blaze)
Eva Gray (Sunrisers)
Bess Heath (Northern Diamonds)
Ryana MacDonald-Gay (South East Stars)
Paige Scholfield (South East Stars)
Grace Scrivens (captain, Sunrisers)
Bryony Smith (vice-captain, South East Stars)
Linsey Smith (Southern Vipers)
Mady Villiers (Sunrisers)

The three fixtures:

Wednesday 28 June, Loughborough, 11.00
Friday 30 June, Loughborough, 11am
Sunday 2 July, Guildford CCC, 11am

Lead photo shows Grace Scrivens during theU19 World Cup in Potchefstroom

The England A squad gave the test team just the send-off they needed by thrashing their Australian counterparts at the Haslegrave ground, Loughborough, by 74 runs.

It wasn’t all plain sailing, but once Charlie Dean bowled Heather Graham for a threatening 50, the Aussies proved not to have the depth of batting power the English had shown earlier on a hot afternoon.

Although the hosts had the misfortune to lose Bryony Smith (9) hitting across the line to Tayla Vlaeminck, they advanced at a great pace. Maia Bouchier showed elegance as well as power to top-score with 74 off 48 (12 fours), while Alice Capsey went even faster (30/16) including the first of four sixes the team racked up. (The boundary rope was set well back. Good!)

74 in the powerplay, 101 in ten, and the slaughter continued.

Once those leading batters were dismissed, the rest of the team kept up the rhythm. In the end, out of nine at the crease only Smith failed to reach a run-rate of a 100. (Capsey 187, Dean 175). And Smith managed 90.

It’s not often you can sit back and say ‘my team is definitely going to top 200, and nobody’s going to stop them’. But that’s what happened, Freya Kemp showing her all-round skills by hitting a huge six in the closing stages.

In reply, the visitors showed they meant business.

Capsey and the new recruit, Mahika Gaur, were invited to open proceedings and both suffered severe punishment. Capsey bowled overs 1 and 4, Gaur was given two straight off to see if she could get over understandable nerves. At least she went for fewer runs than her off-spin partner. (2-0-21-0, as against 2-0-27-1. But it was the Surrey starlet who made an important breakthrough, getting Tahlia Wilson caught by her captain.

Heather Graham (50/36) looked totally in control and received positive support from Courtney Webb (33/37). Lauren Winfield had to think hard about field settings, and the target seemed perfectly within reach.

But just as promptly it slid away. The bowling figures tell us all we need to know. In turn Freya Davies (3-17), Sarah Glenn and Dean bowled artfully to limit the fours to a minimum. The outfielding maintained the high standards the Aussies had reached, then surpassed them. Suddenly the asking-rate shifted from gettable to impossible.

Was it pure coincidence that, as the Aussies’ chances receded, lowering storm clouds approached from the north-west? Fortunately they didn’t materialise, and the hosts were able to complete a victory under the intense gaze of Jon Lewis, who, having completed his ‘Once more unto the breach..’ speech at Trent Bridge, came down the M1 to see how his other flock was faring.

Some had given notice that they were more than ready for call-ups to higher things.

Teams

England A :Lauren Winfield (captain), Bryony Smith, Alice Capsey, Maia Bouchier, Alice Davidson- Richards, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath (wk), Freya Kemp, Charlie Dean, Freya Davies, Linsey Smith, Mahika Gaur

Australia A: Nicole Faltum (captain, wk), Heather Graham, Maddi Darke, Charli Knott, Tahlia Wilson, Courtney Webb, Courtney Sippel, Tayla Vlaeminck, Maitlan Brown, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Kate Peterson

Scores
England A 207-7 Australia A 133-6 England win by 74 runs

On the same day as the full England side were taking on South Africa at Chelmsford, a back-up XI saw off New Zealand with some ease.

The White Ferns’ innings had a very familiar look. At the top of the order Sophie Devine (69) and Suzie Bates (48) added 93 together. Once Devine was out (130-2), the remaining batters added only 32 more runs.

Tammy Beaumont, captaining the A team, and Bess Heath, took the attack apart, adding 160 inside 15 overs for the second wicket. 60 of Heath’s 84* came in boundaries. Savagery is one way to describe things. The only casualty was opener Marie Kelly, who fell second ball caught at deep mid-wicket; her second mishap in succession as she tries to establish herself at representative level.

The reverse is true of Heath. Her stickiest moment came when Beaumont produced a mid-on pile- driver aimed straight at her gullet She finished in a heap on the ground, fortunately unscathed. That is why some umpires have taken to wearing helmets.

Scores:

New Zealand: 162-6
England A: 164-2 (Beaumont 74/40; Heath 84*/51)
England A win by 8 wickets

The teams;

England A

AN Davidson-Richards, LL Filer, DR Gibson, KL Gordon, BAM Heath (w-k), M Kelly, GEA Potts, GE Scrivens, LCN Smith, MK Villiers, TT Beaumont (captain)

New Zealand:

SW Bates, SFM Devine (captain), ML Green, HM Rowe, RA Mair, BM Halliday, EJ Carson, CL Green, HNK Jensen, FC Jonas, JT McFadyen (w-k), GE Plimmer, LM Tahuhu, I Gaze

It’s always likely to turn out like this when the two sides are not aligned, so while South Africa had nominally their strongest XI on the field; the English combined seasoned internationals (Elwiss, Winfield-Hill, Glenn, Villiers, Davies) with players anxious to stake a claim for a permanent place in the top team and younger talent with stars in their eyes (Potts, Kemp and Capsey).

It was hard to credit that the pitch had already been used twice, it played thoroughly well through to the end. The weather was perfect.

The Proteas batted well enough, reaching 152-1, but the spinners Glenn and Villiers, caused a clatter of wickets to leave them 152-4.

Laura Wolvaardt once more showed elegance and sureness in her stroke-play (72). Mady Villiers did well to force her into a false stroke as she threatened to push her side beyond 300. Lara Goodall (45), Chloe Tryon (43) and inevitably Marizanne Kapp (51) gave solid support.

But the eight bowlers skipper Georgia Elwiss used stuck to their task, only the youngster Freya Kemp getting some stick. Surely it wasn’t wise to delay her entry to the back end of the innings, with two batters well set and throwing caution to the wind.

Eve Jones (42 off 63) and Maia Bouchier (34/51) started the reply circumspectly, apparently unconcerned about the slowish rate of progress. Their calm turned out to be completely justified. Bryony Smith (at No 3) also took her time, while Alice Capsey couldn’t achieve three big innings on the trot after a promising start (17/24).

But once Lauren Winfield-Hill joined Smith the game swung compellingly England’s way.

They added an unbeaten 151. LW-H was all elegance and resource, peppering the covers, then lifting the ball straight over the infield. Smith used power and timing to make the bowlers pay for any inaccuracies.

The Proteas’ coaches will be wondering how to improve the bowlers’ effectiveness before they actually face England’s top team.

By the end the visitors looked a well beaten outfit. But questions must be asked about tactics: field settings didn’t help the bowlers to keep the runs down and make the batters work harder for their rewards. The captain, Sune Luus, was the most effective bowler, but she sustained an injured hand stopping a powerful straight drive (2.3-0-10-1).

Scores:

Proteas: 264-7
England A: 267-3 in 43.3 overs (Winfield-Hill 95*, B. Smith 66*, E. Jones 42, Bouchier 34)

England A won by 7 wickets

It was officially described as a warm-up, but that applied mainly to the Proteas; the English could only hope and pray that a personal performance would impress the selectors sufficiently to earn a place in the top team.

Marie Kelly began well with two fours, a cover drive and lofted straight drive off Nonkululeko Mlaba’s slow left-armers, but no sooner had Bryony Smith given a straightforward catch to mid-wicket off the admirable Tumi Sekhukhune than Kelly had a piece of rotten luck.

Alice Capsey drove her second ball straight back to the bowler; one finger was enough to break the wicket and the Lightning batter was stranded.

The striker always feels guilt when that happens, but fortunately Capsey’s return to form two days earlier at Beckenham continued here. She and Maia Bouchier added 52 in six overs with enterprising stroke-play. A Sune Luus leg-break undid Capsey’s advance; she chipped to extra, but Bess Heath came in to add a further 79 with Bouchier right into the final over.
It was eventful. Bouchier pushed Nadine de Klerk’s first ball for a single to reach 49, then the umpire had to effect an emergency operation on Heath’s bat – competently handled. Heath swept the next two balls for four. Then drama: Bouchier was stranded at the wrong end as she sat one short of a merited 50. In a desperate attempt to get her on strike Heath ran herself out – an excellent piece of scrambling by the bowler.

That brought Mady Villiers to the crease with two balls left (one more than is often a batter’s fate in T20s.)

She dutifully ran a single to give her partner her chance, but Bouchier, instead of copying Villers’ example and playing tip-and-run, essayed a cross-batted swipe and was bowled. Never mind; she finished top scorer, and the Proteas has a task on their hands.

Linsey Smith was the pick of the England bowlers. She had the dangerous Lizelle Lee caught in the second over off a lofted drive.

Smith is one of a handful of slow left-armers to have their England prospects damaged by Sophie Ecclestone’s excellence. An England team can parade any number of medium-paced right-armers, even two off-spinners. But two left-arm spinners? No way!

When Smith had Laura Wolvaardt caught at third man by Kira Chathli, she had dismissed the Proteas’ two most dangerous strikers. She finished with the admirable analysis 4-0-18-2.
At the other end of the scale Freya Davies had an unprofitable time with the ball. Two of her four overs started with wides to leg, and there were plenty of others. Bryony Smith entrusted her with the last over. Her namesake had delivered the 19th for just seven runs; the Proteas needed an improbable 26 for victory.

Trisha Chetty and Chloe Tryon played cat and nouse with her: would they step to leg or to off, or would they stand firm and swing? They managed to garner ten runs, but they weren’t enough. Davies guessed correctly often enough to prevent a surprise result.

Background

Selection

Such is the current strength of English cricket at the moment that you might have offered half-a-dozen different elevens to represent this A squad. As it was, Chathli did play, but not as keeper; that honour went to Heath. Only the experts can say which of them is technically better, but Chathli has impressed me every time I have seen her.

The full England team is undergoing some adaptation at present. Brunt and Shrubsole no longer play tests (they come one per annum if we’re lucky). But Brunt has been restored to the England squad for the coming T20s and ODIs. You could see that as either inevitable or a highly conservative choice.

Two possible alternatives were on view in Cardiff, Danni Gibson and Freya Kemp. Both bowled some testing deliveries. Kemp has the advantage of her left-arm over approach. While England’s batting line-up remains obstinately right-handed, there are several left-arm quicks competing for consideration.

Coverage

The ECB covered itself in glory in its lack of advance publicity for this game. I found nothing on their website or their twitter account. An Indian website did the honours, then we had the stand-by of hypocaust’s contribution, offering the YouTube address. I wonder what the ECB pays him for his services.

The livestream coverage was competent visually, but there was no sound on offer, either commentary or sound effects. Not a great advertisement for English cricket.

Scores:

England A 155-5 (Bouchier 49, Heath 43, Capsey 32)
Proteas 140-6 (Luus 45, Wolvaardt 34; L. Smith 2-18, B. Smith 2-20)

Teams:

England A: Bryony Smith (captain), Marie Kelly, Alice Capsey, Maia Bouchier, Bess Heath (w-k), Mady Villiers, Danni Gibson, Freya Kemp, Kira Chathli, Linsey Smith, Freya Davies

South Africa: Lizelle Lee, Lara Goodall, Laura Wolvaardt, Sune Luus (captain), Chloe Tryon, Nadine de Klerk, Trisha Chetty (w-k), Sinalo Jafta, Ayabonga Khaka, Tumi Sekhukhune, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Anneke Bosch

The addition of A-squad fixtures against South Africa is one of the best ways to ensure this happens. The latest selection shows a numbers of changes since the game at Arundel. Two wise old heads, Danni Wyatt and Lauren Winfield-Hill, have moved in opposite directions, Wyatt back to the full England squad, LW-H out of view the other way.

The new-look A-team:

Bryony Smith (South East Stars, captain), Maia Bouchier (Southern Vipers), Alice Capsey (South East Stars), Kira Chathli (South East Stars), Freya Davies (South East Stars), Dani Gibson (Western Storm), Bess Heath (Northern Diamonds), Marie Kelly (Lightning), Freya Kemp (Southern Vipers), Linsey Smith (Northern Diamonds), Mady Villiers (Sunrisers). Travelling reserve: Grace Potts (Central Sparks)

Of them, five were on view at Beckenham in a Round-One match of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy between South East Stars and Sunrisers, Smith, Capsey, Davies, Chathli and Villiers. And there were others who might have harboured hopes of being included.

Smith produced a fine all-round performance, starting the game with her usual belligerent approach to batting (66 of 68 balls), then 10-1-37-3 with her off-spin.

Alice Capsey at last recaptured the form that so impressed everyone last year (64 not out off 69 balls). Her follow-up of 4-0-26-2 with her off-spin won’t have harmed her chances either.

Freya Davies had the most to prove, having been the one quick bowler to be omitted from the test XI. She bowled tidily, but without that grain of luck any cricketer needs when it matters most. (6-0-30-0)

Kira Chathli has been rewarded for the keeping skills she has shown over the last year or two, and she took the opportunity to make a sizeable score (61 off 65 at No 3), so vital for any keeper with pretensions to top honours these days.

It would be facinating to know how the England selectors measure the competing talents of the keepers; the standards are so high. But no-one can doubt Chathli’s credentials. She is constantly alert behind the stumps, and her batting only added to her cause.

Mady Villiers’ fortunes have turned since she looked like a permanent partner to Sophie Ecclestone in the England spin-department. Like Sarah Glenn, she has been discarded, in her case to Charlie Dean’s advantage, yet another Southern Viper product. Villiers’ bowling figures, 10-1-54-1, don’t look impressive despite some testing deliveries. She had her chance to shine batting at No 4, but ran down to pitch to smite Smith into the far yonder, to give Chathli a simple stumping chance (10/21).

Good as Smith’s all-round figures were, they were outshone by Grace Scrivens, who doesn’t appear in the A-list. Kelly Castle, Sunrisers’ skipper, didn’t bring her on till 150 runs were on the board, but she proceeded to take 4-42 in her 10 overs.

Her prime role is opening the batting, and there she dominated the scene, hitting 74 off 74 in a vain attempt to help her side to the daunting target of 282.

Sunrisers have been the weakest of the eight regions since the new structures were launched, and Scrivens only joined them after she was overlooked by her own region – she comes from Kent, so was familiar with the bowling of Alexa Stonehouse, Phoebe Franklin and Grace Gibbs (a replacement for Kalea Moore who failed a late fitness test).

Sunrisers’ most obvious lack is opening bowlers to worry batters with the new ball. But once Scrivens was dismissed (137 still needed), a successful chase looked less than unlikely. The rest of the batting line-up just didn’t stir confidence. And so it proved, they finished 80 short. 201 is a decent enough total, but not these days on a pretty true Beckenham track.

Scores:

South East Stars 281-8 Sunrisers 201

Coming fixture:
England Women A versus South Africa

Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Monday, 4 July

The elite end has a packed programme of events: a series against New Zealand already under way, a tour of Pakistan next month, and a World Cup next March in New Zealand.

The opening game of the White Ferns’ tour went under the radar. The high octane experience at Lord’s needed to be followed up vigorously to ensure women’s cricket in England maintains its forward momentum.

Answer: a 50-over match the following Monday between an England A Eleven and the White Ferns at Derby. Excellent!

The only slight problem: no mention of it from English sources till long after the game started. The only coverage initially came from the White Ferns’ twitter account, giving occasional updates.

The same players who had appeared last week in front of 5-figure crowds now returned to the backwaters of women’s cricket.

The Match

The White Ferns flew over from Auckland on 13 August. A week later they played their first game. It was termed a friendly/warm-up, 14-a-side, but in the event only eleven appeared for England.

The team selected was fascinating.

The Eleven:

Bryony Smith (captain)
Grace Scrivens
Naomi Dattani
Charlotte Dean
Alice Davidson-Richards
Katie George
Abi Freeborn
Beth Langston
Sophie Munro
Hannah Baker
Hannah Jones

Included were two of the most promising teenagers, Scrivens and Baker, more young hopefuls in Dean, George, Munro and Jones, and a leavening of experience in the captain, Dattani, AD-R and Langston. Freeborn of Lightning was offered the gloves.

Result:
New Zealand 223
England A: 226-6

Susie Bates (70), returning from a long injury break, held the White Ferns’ innings together. Katey Martin (52) guided the tail through to a useful total.

Of the opening bowlers Beth Langston finished with 2-25, including the wicket of opener Hayley Jensen for a duck, but she bowled a flurry of wides. The three spinners, Jones, Baker and the captain took a combined five wickets.

In reply Scrivens and Smith made a sound start, the captain unsurprisingly outpacing her young partner to reach 53 off 58 balls. If the selectors were looking for an opener who is willing to put down roots, then Scrivens may be an answer. She played an almost invisible role in the Hundred, but here reached a calm 39 off 58 – and she is a left-hander, an endangered species in the national game.

Wickets started falling uncomfortably in midstream, but AD-R (43 off 60) kept her powder dry, using her experience to realise that 50 overs are a long time in cricket. This was an important knock for her, but it needed Langston’s all-rounder credentials to provide some big hits at the close, two consecutive fours in the 48th over saw the reserves safely home.

Selection Issues

As we look again at this Eleven, we could easily dream up a parallel side equally eligible for selection. Perhaps a carefully graded ‘batting order’ of potential England players already exists, so, for example, other keepers like Ellie Threlkeld, Nat Wraith and Carla Rudd already know their position in life and don’t feel disowned.

Once more the dearth of outstanding batters to take over from the established leaders became apparent. Neither Eve Jones nor Emma Lamb were chosen. Let’s hope they were assured of better things.

George’s selection is especially interesting. She batted No 6 (6) and didn’t bowl. She played for Welsh Fire throughout the Hundred but didn’t bowl there either. While her back injury woes continue, the England selectors are obviously keen to tell her she is still in their thoughts.

The top 6 here were Smith, Scrivens, Dattani, Dean, AD-R and George. Of them only the skipper is a likely addition to England’s batting strength in the short term. Both Dattani and AD-R are 27 and, delighted as they must have been for the call-up, were probably equally surprised. Dattani at least offers the bonus of being another left-hander.

Dean is better known as an off-spinner. If she can develop into another Sciver or Knight that will be a huge plus. The youngest of the six, Scrivens, is a name for the future.

Seven bowlers were used, all going for over 4 per over bar Dean whose off-breaks returned an economical 10-0-29-1. But England is well supplied with talented offers.

Afterthought

It’s excellent to see a full programme of matches between the Academies of the eight regional hubs. The next generation is being properly looked after.