Charlie Dean as England batters give Edwards selection headaches
charlie dean sits in the middle of a selection problem England probably wanted. Charlotte Edwards says the batters have given her “a few headaches” after England beat New Zealand 2-1 in the T20 series, with the Women’s T20 World Cup starting on 12 June.
Charlotte Edwards and England’s batting order
Edwards has already named a 15-player squad for the tournament, but she said she “absolutely” did not know her best XI at the moment. That uncertainty sits squarely in the batting order, where England are still weighing combinations before they begin the World Cup on home soil.
“I’m probably more sure of the bowling, but I guess the batters are giving us a few headaches, which you want - you want people wanting to put their hands up,” she said after England thrashed New Zealand by seven wickets in the final T20 at Hove. That followed another warning from the head coach that “There’s certainly different combinations that we want to look at.”
Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt-Hodge
England have done this without captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and regular opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge for much of the summer. Sciver-Brunt is coming back from a calf injury and has played only two games of competitive cricket since February, while Wyatt-Hodge missed both the ODI and T20 series against New Zealand to join her wife Georgie for the birth of their first child.
Wyatt-Hodge is available for the three T20s against India starting at Chelmsford on Thursday, giving England another option before the tournament begins. Edwards said she was not worried about Sciver-Brunt, adding: “If there’s any person in world cricket you don’t mind having the lack of cricket she’s had, it’s Nat,”.
Alice Capsey, Sophia Dunkley and Charlie Dean
The batting auditions have been uneven. Alice Capsey opened in Wyatt-Hodge’s absence and made an unbeaten 74 in the series opener at Derby, but she followed it with 18 and three in the next two matches. Sophia Dunkley posted 8, 26 and 22 against New Zealand, while Heather Knight remains a mainstay in the middle order.
The bowling picture looks cleaner, which is why the selection squeeze is landing elsewhere. Lauren Bell and Linsey Smith have formed England’s powerplay pairing, and Sophie Ecclestone can work in tandem with Charlie Dean through the middle overs. England now get three matches against India to test those options under pressure before the home World Cup starts.
