Just weeks after losing her central contract, Lauren Winfield-Hill has been recalled to the England squad for the T20 series versus the West Indies next month.
After an outstanding summer in domestic cricket in 2022, winning The Hundred with Oval Invincibles and leading Northern Diamonds to victory in the RHF Trophy, Winfield-Hill has also had her best ever WBBL season, scoring 254 runs for Melbourne Stars with a best of 74 v Brisbane Heat.
England have named separate squads for the ODI and T20 series, with all of the contracted players except Tash Farrant (who is still in recovery from a stress fracture) named in at least one of the squads. The non-contracted Alice Davidson-Richards is included in the ODI squad only, alongside Tammy Beaumont, Kate Cross and Emma Lamb; while the T20 squad adds Katherine Brunt, Sarah Glenn and Issy Wong as well as Winfield-Hill.
The omission of Brunt from the ODI squad is perhaps the other big surprise, suggesting that having already retired from Tests she may be intending to focus exclusively on short-form cricket going forwards.
ODI Squad
Heather Knight (Western Storm)
Tammy Beaumont (Blaze)
Lauren Bell (Southern Vipers)
Alice Capsey (South East Stars)
Kate Cross (Thunder)
Alice Davidson-Richards (South East Stars)
Freya Davies (South East Stars)
Charlie Dean (Southern Vipers)
Sophia Dunkley (South East Stars)
Sophie Ecclestone (Thunder)
Amy Jones (Central Sparks)
Freya Kemp (Southern Vipers)
Emma Lamb (Thunder)
Nat Sciver (Northern Diamonds)
Danni Wyatt (Southern Vipers)
T20 Squad
Heather Knight (Western Storm)
Lauren Bell (Southern Vipers)
Katherine Brunt (Northern Diamonds)
Alice Capsey (South East Stars)
Freya Davies (South East Stars)
Charlie Dean (Southern Vipers)
Sophia Dunkley (South East Stars)
Sophie Ecclestone (Thunder)
Sarah Glenn (Central Sparks)
Amy Jones (Central Sparks)
Freya Kemp (Southern Vipers)
Nat Sciver (Northern Diamonds)
Lauren Winfield-Hill (Northern Diamonds)
Issy Wong (Central Sparks)
Danni Wyatt (Southern Vipers)
CRICKETher 
On the announcement of 2 separate squads, I think this would seem to be a step forward, as it allows more flexibility, granular detail and some selection on form, and helps to limit any stagnation in the squad by using uncontracted players as well.
It will be good to have Knight and Sciver back (and Winfield-Hill, who shouldn’t have been omitted in the summer). I am starting to get slightly concerned though about wicketkeeping options, what with no obvious successor to Jones being brought in yet. Currently we are down to emergency options if (God forbid) Jones is injured, but her rather fragile form in itself justifies inclusion of a working deputy, in my mind. Maybe that was one little reason which helped get LWH back in the T20 squad, what with Beaumont not in that one. But surely Heath’s WBBL performances were enough to catch the selectors’ eyes?
Having lost to Windies in the World Cup earlier in the year, England must be keen to put that right and we need the Championship points too, having not picked up any against India.
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