Lamb added to England squad in Sri Lanka

England have today announced that Lancashire’s Emma Lamb has been called-up to Heather Knight’s England squad to take on Sri Lanka starting tomorrow.

The right handed top order batsman has been training in Abu Dhabi along with seven other members of the England Women’s Senior Academy and the England squad, as part of a six-day preparation camp for the four-match One-Day International (ODI) series, which gets underway in Colombo tomorrow (Wednesday 9^th November).

The 18-year-old’s addition to the squad to play against Sri Lanka comes after impressing Knight and England Women’s Head Coach, Mark Robinson, in the UAE, and follows a consistent Kia Super League campaign this summer, where she scored 122 runs at an average of just under 25 for Lancashire Thunder. Lamb is now one of two uncapped players in the 15-strong squad, joining Yorkshire and Loughborough Lightning right-arm seamer, Beth Langston.

Robinson said : “Emma has really impressed us during the prep camp in Abu Dhabi.  She got good runs in the two internal warm-up matches we played there, batting in an unfamiliar position at number six, which has shown to us that she has great versatility.  She also delivered a series of strong performances in the Kia Super League this summer, and was the standout batsman on the England Women’s Academy tour to Sri Lanka earlier this year, so she fully deserves this opportunity.

“Her approach to everything so far has been very professional and we are keen to try to build some experience into young players like Emma whenever we can.  Being around the senior girls over the next couple of weeks, I am sure she will learn loads, which is the whole idea.

“The training camp in Abu Dhabi was excellent.  Heather Knight led from the front with a big hundred in the second warm-up match yesterday, with Georgia Elwiss also getting 80 odd, and Nat Sciver chipped in with a couple of good scores.  It has also been really beneficial to have some of the Senior Academy players training with the squad – it’s been great to get a closer look at them, and I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen.

“The challenge now is to adapt quickly to the new conditions here in Sri Lanka.  There has been a lot of rain around in Colombo over the last few days, and looking ahead the forecast isn’t ideal, but we will take everything in our stride.  Sri Lanka have had a tough time in the ICC Women’s Championship, but we know how competitive they can be – especially on their home turf.  There certainly won’t be any complacency from us, as we look to finish 2016 on a high.”

All four of England women’s fixtures against Sri Lanka will be played in Colombo during a short nine day window, starting with the first ODI tomorrow (Wednesday 9 November). The remaining three ODIs will form England’s seventh and final round of matches in the ICC Women’s Championship – the qualification tournament for the ICC Women’s World Cup in England in 2017 – and will be played on Saturday 12^th, Tuesday 15^th and Thursday 17^th November.  Heather Knight’s team need to record just a single win (2 points) from the three Championship matches to secure one of the four automatic qualification spots for the World Cup on home soil next summer.

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