MacDonald-Gay, Kemp, Smith & Heat named in England’s squad for Women's Ashes

New Delhi, Dec 23 Seamer Ryana MacDonald-Gay, all-rounder Freya Kamp, spinner Linsey Smith and wicketkeeper-batter Linsey Smith have been named in England’s squad for the upcoming Women’s Ashes.

Ryana, who made her white-ball debut on England’s tour of Ireland earlier this year, took two wickets on her Test debut against South Africa and retains her place in the longer format team for the trip to Australia.

Freya and Linsey are in an Ashes squad for the first time and are a part of the T20I team only, while Bess is included in T20I and Test squads after suffering a fractured thumb, which kept her out of the South Africa tour.

Left-arm pacer Mahika Gaur will be with the group, continuing her return to bowling following the injury that made her unavailable for the recent South Africa tour. England travel to Sydney on January 2 and will play a warm-up match against a Governor General's XI on January 9.

"We have named balanced squads for this Ashes series, with a good mix of youth and experience. Ashes series’ are always special. We want to go there, play our way, and are all excited about the challenges ahead," said head coach Jon Lewis in a statement.

England begins their Women’s Ashes trip with three ODIs in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart from January 11-16. It is followed by three T20Is taking place in Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide from January 20-25.

The four-day Test, also the maiden day-night game, is set to be held from January 30 to February 2 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The game will also end the multi-format Women’s Ashes series for the first time since it was introduced in 2015.

During the last Ashes in England in 2023, Australia won the Test match at Trent Bridge but England triumphed in both white-ball formats, resulting in an eight-all draw of the multi-format series.

England ODI squad: Heather Knight (captain), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt-Hodge

England T20I squad: Heather Knight (captain), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Linsey Smith, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt-Hodge

England Test squad: Heather Knight (captain), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt-Hodge

Source: IANS