England have called up left-armer Kirstie Gordon to their squad for the 4-day Women’s Ashes Test which begins in Taunton on Thursday.
Gordon, who made her England debut at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies last November, has been fighting her way back into England contention after being diagnosed with a stress fracture of the lower back at the tail-end of last year. But she looked to have rebounded to her best as she took 8 wickets, including a 6-fer, for England Academy against the Australians in their warm-up at Marlborough last week.
Another player coming back from injury – Georgia Elwiss – is also included for the first time this summer. After years on the fringes, Elwiss looked to be challenging for a spot in England’s 1st choice ODI XI this spring on the tour of India and Sri Lanka, until a broken finger brought that trip to a premature end for her. However, she was one of England’s better performers in the last two Test matches, scoring a crucial 41* off 190 balls as England salvaged a draw in Sydney in 2017.
Fran Wilson and Alex Hartley are not officially in the squad but will stay with the team in Taunton as cover, with gun fielder Wilson odds-on to play a 12th-man role if and when England need cover in the field.
Meanwhile Danni Wyatt and Jenny Gunn will both take part in a series of T20 matches this week against Australia A and Ireland, and Wyatt at least will almost certainly return to the squad for the T20s.
With England already 6-0 down in the multi-format series, they need to win the Test, plus all of the three T20s which follow, to reclaim the Women’s Ashes.
Likely Team
- Tammy Beaumont
- Amy Jones
- Sarah Taylor
- Heather Knight
- Nat Sciver
- Georgia Elwiss
- Katherine Brunt
- Anya Shrubsole
- Sophie Ecclestone
- Kate Cross
- Kirstie Gordon
Full Squad
Heather Knight (Berkshire)
Tammy Beaumont (Kent)
Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire)
Kate Cross (Lancashire)
Sophie Ecclestone (Lancashire)
Georgia Elwiss (Sussex)
Kirstie Gordon (Nottinghamshire)
Amy Jones (Warwickshire)
Laura Marsh (Kent)
Nat Sciver (Surrey)
Anya Shrubsole (Berkshire)
Lauren Winfield (Yorkshire)
Sarah Taylor (Sussex)
CRICKETher 
“With England already 6-0 down in the multi-format series, they need to win the Test, plus all of the three T20s which follow, to reclaim the Women’s Ashes” ……… England might find they have to not just beat Australia but also the weather. Its looking a bit ‘changeable’.(I think the locals suggest that if you can see the Quantocks its going to rain and if you can’t its raining).
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I could see the Quantocks on Sunday (in fact, I was in ’em!), and there was barely a cloud in the sky… 🙂
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Thursday should be OK but Fri and Sat don’t look great at all, unfortunately. Well, if you can’t play, you can’t win (or lose) as they say…
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The likely weather on Fri and Sat is one of the reasons why we need to have more women’s Tests …
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