England Women announce squad for T20 World Cup

England have announced a strong 15-member squad for the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup to be held in South Africa, with Heather Knight as the captain. 

The England team also includes Alice Capsey, who suffered a broken collarbone in their away tour to the Caribbean just before Christmas and will be a doubtful starter in the marquee event. 

“We hope Alice is fit enough, and she’s worked incredibly hard alongside the medical staff to get to this point. We’ll give her every chance, but as we saw in the Caribbean, the depth of talent and skill in the squad is growing fast. Winning tournaments is about everyone collectively embracing the moment and enjoying the journey," Head Coach Jon Lewis said in a press release. 

"It’s always exciting to name a World Cup squad, and there’s a great deal of talent in this group. We saw a lot of good things in the West Indies, a lot of progress around shifting our mindset as a team, and I’m excited to see how we take that into to the challenge of a global tournament," he further added. 

The upcoming World Cup will also be the first world event for Lewis with the women's side, and he is excited with the squad at his disposal. 

“It’s an honour for me to lead a team into a World Cup and I know that we will be giving it everything we have got, not only to show everyone who we are as a team and how we want to play, but also to keep inspiring people to play the game we all love so much," he said. 

England have also included experienced bowler Kate Cross in the 15-member to bolster their death bowling resources and add more depth to the team with an all-around option. 

Issy Wong, who stormed her way to international cricket with her sheer pace, failed to make it into the final team and is one of the travelling reserves. 

The England team will start their campaign on February 11 against West Indies at Paarl before facing Ireland, India and Pakistan in their last three league games. 

England Women's World Cup squad: 

Heather Knight (Captain), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Katherine Brunt, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Danni Wyatt.

Travelling Reserves: 

Issy Wong, Dani Gibson