England omit Tammy Beaumont from Commonwealth Games squad

Teenage allrounders Freya Kemp and Alice Capsey have both been included in the party, captained by Heather Knight, for the cricket competition in the multisport event

England have included teenagers Alice Capsey and Freya Kemp in their squad for the Commonwealth Games, but there is no place for Tammy Beaumont, who has been left out.

Heather Knight will captain a 15-strong squad for the inaugural cricket competition in the multisport event, with uncapped allrounders Capsey and Kemp the standout inclusions in a group that also includes Bryony Smith, who is a potential opening partner for Danni Wyatt at the top of the order, having last played T20 cricket for England four years ago.

Capsey starred for Oval Invincibles in The Hundred last summer and subsequently travelled to Australia with England A over the winter, while left-arm seamer Kemp, 17, has impressed under the tutelage of Charlotte Edwards at Southern Vipers.

"Obviously, we're keen to have a left-arm seamer in there, and she bats really well as well," said Lisa Keightley, England's head coach, following her side's 50-over win over South Africa. "She's quite exciting and we'll see how she goes, but she's performed really well and deserves her spot."

She added that Capsey's flexibility – she is able to bat anywhere in the top seven and provides an off-spin option – had been one of the reasons for England keeping close tabs on her for some time.

Beaumont, though, is the highest-profile absentee, having played 99 times for England in the game's shortest format, including in all three matches on the T20I leg of the Women's Ashes series over the winter. She remains one of only three women – along with Wyatt and Heather Knight – to have scored a T20I hundred for England.

She has been a pillar of the national team's success across all formats since early in Mark Robinson's tenure, though Keightley did alter Beaumont's position in the line-up during the 2020 T20 World Cup, sliding her down the order to No.6 and No.7, only to return her later that year to the opening berth where she has remained ever since.

^{Freya Kemp gives England a left-arm seam option (Ashley Allen/Getty Images)}

"We feel like that's our best squad," said Keightley, confirming that Beaumont's omission was tactical rather than part of a rest-and-rotation strategy through a busy summer.

"The way we want to approach it, we want to be quite aggressive up top, and the players that we've picked we think give us the options to do that. Obviously, Tammy is an amazing player; she's performed really well over a long period of time. I suppose the challenge is out to Tam to go away and work on things that we've been working on and show us why she should be in the squad.

"I'm sure she'll bounce back, that's what we want really: we want pressure on and players getting better in every format. In 50-over cricket, you can't match Tammy's record – I think it speaks for itself. In T20, I think there is still some room for growth and improvement there, and it's up to her to go away and do it. The Hundred is a fantastic opportunity to do that, and we'll see what she can do."

Beaumont, who scored more T20I runs than any other England player in 2021 though at a strike rate of just 108.6, is set to feature for Welsh Fire in The Hundred, with the women's tournament beginning following the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games.

The squad selected for the Commonwealth Games will double up as the squad for the T20I leg of the multiformat series against South Africa. As well as Beaumont, off-spinner Charlie Dean, seamer Lauren Bell and fellow opener Emma Lamb have been left out, with England opting for a completely different opening partnership.

Mady Villiers and Lauren Winfield-Hill are also left out from the Women's Ashes party, while Tash Farrant is injured. Maia Bouchier is included, with Issy Wong picked for the tournament taking place in Birmingham, her home city.

England squad: Heather Knight, Maia Bouchier, Katherine Brunt, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Nat Sciver, Bryony Smith, Issy Wong, Danni Wyatt

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