Tammy Beaumont is set for a return to England’s T20 team for the first time since January 2022, while the 23-year-old seamer Lauren Filer may be in line for a debut as England begin their tour of New Zealand on Tuesday with the first of five T20s, in Dunedins.
Beaumont was dropped before the Commonwealth Games in 2022 with the captain, Heather Knight, saying England wanted players who could bring more “fearlessness and aggressiveness” in the 20-over format. However, Beaumont’s recent form has made a mockery of that statement: in August she smashed 118 from 61 balls for Welsh Fire – the highest ever score in the Hundred.
Filer, meanwhile, was handpicked by the coach, Jon Lewis, last summer to play in the Ashes Test match at Trent Bridge and went on to feature in all three of England’s ODIs against Sri Lanka in September. She is yet to win a T20 cap but with Kate Cross and Issy Wong left out of the squad and Freya Kemp suffering a recurrence of an old back injury Lewis may select her in his starting XI.
The coach tasked Beaumont with opening the batting alongside Sophia Dunkley in England’s warm-up match against New Zealand A on Thursday and she responded by striking a 32-ball half-century. The absence of Danni Wyatt, who is playing in the Women’s Premier League in India, now gives her a fresh opportunity to press her case to permanently reclaim her old spot at the top of the order.
England would normally have been expected to easily outperform New Zealand in these matches – the last time they toured here, two years ago, they whitewashed the Kiwis 3-0. But the clash with the WPL complicates things. Wyatt, Sophie Ecclestone, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsey will all be unavailable the first three T20s, having opted to remain with their franchise teams for the duration of the tournament. Ironically, Capsey was the only player of the four to feature in Sunday’s final while Wyatt has spent the entire competition on the bench for UP Warriorz.
The leg-spinner Sarah Glenn said England’s preparations had been going smoothly, even in the absence of their four best players. “We’ve been getting rid of a few cobwebs,” she said. “We’re gelling really well together at the moment. We’ve got a couple of fresh faces coming in who bring great energy.”
Those fresh faces include the left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, whose last outing for England was in 2019, and the uncapped 26-year-old batter Hollie Armitage. Both players have spent the winter representing Central Districts in New Zealand’s domestic competition, the Women’s Super Smash, so will be well tuned to the local conditions should Lewis require their services.
New Zealand will be buoyed up by the return of the all-rounder Brooke Halliday, who sat out their recent series against Pakistan with a foot injury. She was the star of the show during England’s last tour of New Zealand in 2021, hitting back-to-back half-centuries on debut. However, the hosts are also impacted by the clash with the WPL: captain Sophie Devine and leg spinning all-rounder Amelia Kerr will both miss the opening fixture. Suzie Bates will deputise for Devine.
Alongside the full tour, England A are playing their own series of three T20s and three 50-over matches against New Zealand A, providing a key test of depth for both nations. The signs for England A are good, with wins in both the opening two T20s including a rapid half-century for 20-year-old Grace Scrivens, who is widely expected to make the step up into the senior side in the next 12 months.
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