England have named a Winter Performance Squad of 21 players, from whom they have selected 14 to tour West Indies this month, taking on Windies and New Zealand in a T20 series, and then playing three ODIs against the Windies.
A 15 player squad will then be selected in December for the return Ashes series in Australia starting in January 2014. There is also the small matter of the ICC World Twenty20 in March/April 2014. It is a busy schedule.
England's selection for the Windies trip was always going to be a young team, given the current injuries to Heather Knight, Laura Marsh, Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt - all will be aiming to be fit for the Ashes Tour. There are no real surprises with the 14 being :-
Charlotte Edwards - Kent
Tammy Beaumont - Kent
Holly Colvin - Sussex
Kate Cross - Lancashire
Tash Farrant - Kent
Lydia Greenway - Kent
Jenny Gunn - Notts
Dani Hazell - Yorkshire
Amy Jones - Warwickshire
Beth Langston - Essex
Nat Sciver - Surrey
Sarah Taylor - Sussex
Lauren Winfield - Yorkshire
Danni Wyatt - Notts
As well as the four injured players, Arran Brindle, Georgia Elwiss and Fran Wilson from the 21 are omitted for the Windies trip (with Brindle not available for selection for personal reasons).
England will miss the fire and brimstone up front of Brunt and Shrubsole, with their opening bowling looking potentially rather tame - Cross, Farrant, Gunn and Langstone will have their work cut out, with back-up from Sciver. Spinners Colvin, Hazell and Wyatt may have a lot of work to do, probably including even opening the bowling.
Knight's injury is also a big blow. She was England's find of the summer (along with the ice cool Sciver) and now Beaumont, Winfield or Jones may have to fill her shoes at the top of the batting order, keeping Edwards company. Taylor, Greenway, Sciver and Gunn are not a bad middle-order and all the spinners can bat. They may need to in the longer format of the game.
Winter Performance Squad
Charlotte Edwards - Kent
Tammy Beaumont - Kent
Arran Brindle - Sussex
Katherine Brunt - Yorkshire
Holly Colvin - Sussex
Kate Cross - Lancashire
Georgia Elwiss - Sussex
Tash Farrant - Kent
Lydia Greenway - Kent
Jenny Gunn - Notts
Dani Hazell - Yorkshire
Amy Jones - Warwickshire
Heather Knight - Berkshire
Beth Langston - Essex
Laura Marsh - Kent
Nat Sciver - Surrey
Anya Shrubsole - Somerset
Sarah Taylor - Sussex
Fran Wilson - Somerset
Lauren Winfield - Yorkshire
Danni Wyatt - Notts
MD
01/X/13
Who would you prefer them to take then, on the bowling front?
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