The ECB have announced a 14-player squad to contest next week’s Women’s Ashes Test match against Australia at Canterbury.

The big news is the recall of Middlesex’s Fran Wilson to the squad, on the back of her recent excellent form with the bat for both the England Academy and her county this season. She was one of England’s top-performers in the Academy games against the Aussie Shooting Stars in UAE earlier this year, with scores of 57, 50, 45 and 18 in the 50-over matches. Most recently, she made 55 against the Australians in the two-day practice game at Loughborough last weekend.

England go into the Test match (which is worth 4 points for a win) 2-4 down in the series on points, having lost the second and third ODIs at Bristol and Worcester. The selection of Wilson in place of Amy Jones – who finished the ODI series with scores of 15 and 0 before being dropped for the third game – suggests that England want to shore up their batting after poor performances in the last two ODIs, where they were bowled out for 196 and 152 respectively.

Wilson has previously featured in a handful of ODIs and T20s, but should she be selected in the starting XI on Tuesday it would be her first time in an England shirt since 2011. It would also be her Test debut. She is the first non-contracted player to feature in an England squad since Sonia Odedra’s selection for last summer’s Test against India at Wormsley.

The squad is otherwise unchanged from that which contested the 3 ODIs.

The full squad is as follows:

• Charlotte Edwards (Kent)
• Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire)
• Kate Cross (Lancashire)
• Georgia Elwiss (Sussex)
• Lydia Greenway (Kent)
• Becky Grundy (Warwickshire)
• Jenny Gunn (Nottinghamshire)
• Heather Knight (Berkshire)
• Laura Marsh (Kent)
• Nat Sciver (Surrey)
• Anya Shrubsole (Somerset)
• Sarah Taylor (Sussex)
• Fran Wilson (Middlesex)
• Lauren Winfield (Yorkshire)

England glove-butler Sarah Taylor looks set for a Return to Oz this winter, having been named in the South Australia… sorry… “Breezair” Scorpions squad for this (Australian) summer’s 50-over WNCL.

Taylor was named Player of the Season in 2014/15, as the Scorpions made the final for the first time since 2008; but the Scorps were well beaten on the day by the NSW Breakers – cruising to their 16th title in the 18 year history of the competition.

However, this years’ WNCL could be the most open in years, as the deck is reshuffled due to the impact of the Women’s Big Bash League, with many players moving cities as they sign new WBBL contracts.

The Scorpions themselves will be much-strengthened (and the Breakers consequently weakened) by the move of Southern Stars quickie Sarah Coyte (currently on Women’s Ashes duty in England) from NSW to SA.

Middlesex’s bowlers were the story of the day at Merchant Taylors’ in their T20 triple-header with Berkshire and Surrey. Alex Hartley took 4/14 as Berkshire were bowled out for 70 in the first match; while in the final game, Australian Julie Hunter took 4/6 as Surrey were knocked-over for just 25. In the day’s other encounter, an unbeaten half century from Alex Rogers ensured Berkshire beat Surrey.

Middlesex v Berkshire

Having won the toss against Middlesex, Berkshire captain Lissy Macleod may soon have been regretting electing to bat, as spinner Alex Hartley ripped through the Beavers’ top order. Only 3 Berkshire batsmen made it to double-figures; and it was left to No. 9 Fi Morris to drag them to a hint of respectability as she top-scored with 15.

Chasing 71 to win, Middlesex lost Sophia Dunkley early, but were carried to an easy victory with no real alarms by Tash Miles(25*) and Cath Dalton (35*), as Berkshire opted largely for defence over attack – a justifiable decision in theory, but one which meant that in practice their best bowler (Daisy Gardner) bowled just the one over right at the end, by which time it was all over bar the shouting.

Berkshire v Surrey

On what was (later events notwithstanding) really quite a good pitch, Surrey skipper Cecily Scutt also chose to bat when she won the toss in Game 2. Surrey made it to the 10-over mark at 45/1 before Kirstie White (35) was brilliantly run out by a direct hit from Emily Gerke at midwicket, sparking a mini-collapse before Hannah Jones (22*) and New Zealander Rachel Candy (21*) rebuilt – taking Surrey to 106 at the turn.

In reply, Berkshire soon lost young opener Anna Harris for a duck and Lissy Macleod for a typically brisk-and-brusque 9; but Alex Rogers (59*) and Crinny Hall (41) then conspired to take the game away from Surrey. Rogers in particular now seems to have well and truly shaken-off her early season slump, passing 50 for the second time in the T20 campaign, as Berkshire made the runs with an over to spare.

Speaking to CRICKETher afterwards, Rogers admitted that Berkshire had maybe tried too hard to “hit” runs in the first game, rather than working the singles; but told us that a change of tactics was what had worked for them in the second match, as well as paying tribute to the Australian Hall, who has had to sit out so much of the season due to Alex Blackwell occupying the “overseas” place in the Berkshire line-up.

Rogers said:

“We stepped up our game… 100 was a good score, but me and Crinny ran so well between the wickets – she brings that to the team – she knows exactly when you can get a single and when you can get a two; and she keeps you level-headed in the breaks too – I like to hit fours, but she tells me to calm down and go for the singles.”

It was good advice, which served her and her team well.

Middlesex v Surrey

In the day’s final encounter, Middlesex captain Izzy Westbury opted to bowl; and it was the Meatballs’ new Aussie import – seamer Julie Hunter – who did the damage this time, taking 4/6 largely by employing the same tactics that her compatriots did in the recent Women’s Ashes ODIs – keeping it full and straight! Alex Hartley then added two more to her day’s haul, as Surrey were bowled out for just 25 off 13 overs.

Chasing such a low total, Middlesex’s usually lively batting was oddly subdued for the 6 overs it took them to reach their target for the loss of 1 wicket – Dunkley bowled by Scutt for 11.

Nevertheless, the smiles were clearly theirs at the end of the day, and very much deserved as they got their campaign back on track after a disappointing pair of losses in the last round.

The big news today is that England stars Lauren Winfield and Kate Cross are heading to WBBL’s Brisbane Heat.

https://twitter.com/HeatWBBL/status/625899805215076352

CRICKETher understands that several contracted England players have been given leave to take part in the inaugural Women’s Big Bash, which takes place in December / January; and we can expect further announcements over the next couple of weeks, as the i-s are dotted and the t-s are crossed on individual contracts.

However, ECB sources have also confirmed to CRICKETher one slightly disappointing piece of news: England’s contracted players will be expected to return to Blighty by mid-January in preparation for their tour to South Africa, and so will miss the semi-finals and the final.

This is neither unexpected nor unprecedented – the first duty of England-contracted players is rightly to England; and this kind of thing is common in The Other Game with the IPL.

But it is still a pity for the fans (not to mention the girls themselves) that the calendars could not have been tweaked slightly by just a couple of weeks to allow the England players to participate in the “business end” of the competition.

(AKA: We read the Playing Conditions so you don’t have to!)

Women’s International Championship matches allocate a Reserve Day in case of rain on the Match Day; but how exactly does that work?

• If it starts raining, the initial priority is to get a result on the official Match Day.
• The umpires will declare a reduced amount of overs, with the aim being to still complete the match at the originally scheduled finish time.
• A result can be declared if the side batting second has faced a minimum of 20 overs.
• Should the side batting second face fewer overs than the side batting first, the Duckworth-Lewis Method comes into play; and a new “target” is calculated, which takes into account wickets in-hand as well as run-rate.
• Basically, so far, so much the same as any other ODI – men’s or women’s.
• ONLY if 20 overs of the second innings can’t be completed on the Match Day do we THEN fall over to the Reserve Day.
• The Reserve Day picks up the game where the Match Day left off. So if the team batting second start a Duckworth-Lewis-adjusted 20 over chase, that is where we pick up from. (Even if there is just one ball of it left!)
• But they must have started the chase. If the umpires only announce the adjusted chase (but the players never actually get back on, because it starts raining again) the overs to be bowled on the Reserve Day will be those that stood at the moment they originally came off.

Steve Dent reports from Bedminster CC

Gloucestershire maintained their 100% record in the 50-over county championship with a comprehensive 178-run win against Wiltshire at Bedminster CC.

After winning the toss and batting, openers Abby Evans and Charlie Walker started positively with quick running and positive stroke play. With the total on 41, Walker was unluckily run out backing up for a bright 19 off 31 balls. Bethan Moorcraft joined Evans and the pair proceeded to put together a large partnership. Every time the Wiltshire bowlers erred in line or length, both players took advantage and the scoring rate accelerated.

Evans reached her fifty first with Moorcraft following not far behind as the pair put on 141. Moorcraft was run out for 50 from 76 balls with 4 boundaries, but Evans then proceeded to dominate the rest of the innings; she reached a superb hundred from 137 balls as she shared in partnerships of 42 with Naomi Forecast (14) and Amelia Andrew (24* from 14 balls). She was run out on the last ball of the innings for a high class 132, including 20 boundaries, as Gloucestershire finished on 284-4 from their 50 overs.

In reply, Wiltshire never really showed any intent to chase the target down and set out to frustrate the Gloucestershire bowlers. It took until the 10th over before the breakthrough was made by Eve Alder and the bowlers had to remain patient. The introduction of spinners Abby Evans and Chloe Davis saw more wicket-taking opportunities emerge and Evans trapped Wakeling and Morgan lbw in her spell of 2-20 off 10 overs. Davis took the wicket of Amore with another lbw decision before a series of run outs set Wiltshire further back. Naomi Forecast pounced at backward point to run out More and this was followed by direct hit runs outs from Amelia Andrew and Evans as Wiltshire fell to 79-7.

The reintroduction of Alder saw her trap Farrant lbw before a superb catch diving forward at short extra cover by Chloe Davis gave Charlie Walker her first wicket. A last wicket partnership of 20 frustrated Gloucestershire. but with the total on 106, Davis took a return catch off her own bowling to end the Wiltshire innings. Davis finished with 2-20 from 7.3 overs, Eve Alder ended with 2-23 and Walker 1-25.

Coach Steve Dent said afterwards: “Abby’s high class century was a real highlight today and continues her excellent form this season. She batted all the way through the 50 overs and gave us the platform for a significant score. We kept the pressure on the Wiltshire batters with some disciplined bowling and fielding and the win consolidates our position at the top of Division Four.”

Gloucestershire are next in action in the County T20 competition against Scotland and Devon on 2nd August at Frocester CC.

After their swaggering victory on Tuesday, England were brought crashing back down to earth on Thursday by the Southern Stars.

So, should they be making changes for the 3rd ODI on Sunday?

England have 3 options waiting in the wings – batsman Lauren Winfield, who has been in (literally) smashing form for Yorkshire; veteran all-rounder Jenny Gunn, who would offer some bowling variety; and spinner Laura Marsh, who would bolster England’s fragile batting-order.

Or should England stick with the team that proved on Tuesday that it CAN win?

What do YOU think? Vote here, or add your comment below!

A late-order seventh wicket partnership between Charlotte Pape (59*) and Phoebe Franklin (26*) saw Kent snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in a low-scoring thriller against Surrey on Sunday.

Kent had been 49-6 and still 92 runs short of their target when Pape and Franklin came together, but the pair weathered the storm, initially with singles as they kept the run rate ticking over, then – after the 50 partnership was reached – utilising some more expansive strokes. The highlight was a glorious six from Pape as she pulled Cecily Scutt to the square leg boundary.

Pape reached her half-century in the 41st over with a boundary through midwicket, and hit the winning run to third man the following over.

Earlier, Kent had done well to bowl Surrey out for 140 on what looked to be a decent batting wicket. Surrey’s innings was anchored by opener Kirstie White (51), who reached her 50 in 77 balls and played some lovely shots around the wicket. But the introduction of Megan Belt to the attack brought an end to her innings as she was caught at mid-on by Molly Davis.

Two excellent run-outs by Alice Davidson-Richards followed, leaving Surrey 7 down in the space of 36 overs. Belt then helped finish off the tail as, in the same over, both Scutt and Sarah Clarke holed out to Davis at mid-on. Surrey were eventually all out in the 46th over, and Belt finished with figures of 4-24.

Kent’s reply began badly, as some tight bowling from Rachel Candy and Katherine Robson saw them score just 14 runs off the first 8 overs.

15-year-old Hannah Jones (2-34) then removed both openers, having both Davidson-Richards (7) and Lottie Bryan (9) caught by Robson at mid-off.

The wickets continued to tumble with 3 Kent players (Lynsey Askew, Kara Sutherland and Lauren Griffiths) falling for ducks – both Sutherland and Griffiths being trapped lbw by Scutt (2-34). At 49-6, it was left to Pape and Franklin to attempt to stick around.

Surrey had several chances to break the partnership – including a dropped catch at deep backward point when Franklin was on 17 – but failed to do so, and consequently had to watch the match gradually slip away.

After play, Kent captain Lauren Griffiths said it had been a “fantastic win” and praised the performances of her young team:

“We were missing 5 England players and a few others were injured as well, so we had quite a few U15 and U17s playing, and they did amazingly. It just shows that without those England girls the younger girls can step up.

“At 60-6 we were in a little bit of a mess, but we bat all the way down to number 11, and Phoebe and Charlotte looked really confident at the end.”

It was a match thoroughly enjoyed by a rather raucous crowd, at least 4 of whom were watching their first ever game of women’s cricket. A note to the Oval officials, though: is it really necessary to force spectators to move seats halfway through an innings, for so-called “security reasons” (the second set of seats were approximately 5 metres away from the first set)? Not only did it disrupt enjoyment of the game, it created a rather unwelcoming atmosphere – as did the total lack of food/drink facilities available on site. Sort it out please!

Cricket Australia has announced the first round of signings for the up-coming Women’s Big Bash, which will begin on December 5th 2015, leading to a final two months later on January 24th 2016.

CA promised to create a balanced competition by allocating the best Southern Stars players across the different teams, so we have the likes of Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry and Jess Cameron all going their separate ways.

WBBL Initial Signings:

• Adelaide Strikers – Megan Schutt
• Brisbane Heat – Holly Ferling
• Hobart Hurricanes – Julie Hunter
• Melbourne Renegades – Sarah Elliott
• Melbourne Stars – Meg Lanning
• Perth Scorchers – Jess Cameron
• Sydney Sixers – Ellyse Perry
• Sydney Thunder – Rene Farrell