Sophie Ecclestone "excited" for new era for England Women

England have a new head coach in Jon Lewis and a host of young talent emerging onto the international stage

Sophie Ecclestone is "excited" to be a part of England's "new era" after admitting the side needed "a little freshen up".

The spinner, who has chalked up 118 international appearances since making her debut in 2016, is part of England's white-ball squad which is scheduled to face West Indies in the Caribbean in December, their first outing under new head coach, Jon Lewis.

Lewis, who was confirmed as England's head coach earlier in November, replaces Lisa Keightley.

The Australian spent three years at the helm, notably reaching the final of this year's 50-over World Cup and introducing a host of new faces to the international stage, including Charlie Dean, Issy Wong and Lauren Bell. However, her side didn't live up to expectation in the Ashes or Commonwealth Games, walking away from both empty-handed, while much of her tenure was hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

^{Jon Lewis has replaced Lisa Keightley as England Women head coach [Getty Images]}

Her replacement has vowed to "take the handbrake off" to enable England's players to reach their "full potential" with a T20 World Cup on the horizon in 2023.

"I've had a bit of contact with him [Lewis] and it's just something fresh for the team," Ecclestone told Sky Sports. "We needed a little freshen up in the team and in the squad and everyone's really excited to get out to the West Indies ahead of the World Cup next year.

"We've had the same team for a long time and now we've got people like Freya Kemp, [Alice] Capsey, Wongy [Issy Wong], Belly [Lauren Bell] – there's so many you can name and it's great having young talent coming through.

^{Sophie Ecclestone impressed for Sydney Sixers in WBBL08 [Matt King/Getty Images]}

"It's so nice to be playing with people my own age now. I get on with everyone really well but the new era's coming through and it's really nice to see."

While many of her teammates have enjoyed a break from cricket following the end of the domestic season and home international summer in September, Ecclestone will arrive in the Caribbean in hot form after impressing in the Women's Big Bash.

The 23-year-old picked up 20 wickets in 15 appearances as Sydney Sixers reached the WBBL08 final, a haul bettered by only Ashleigh Gardner among her teammates. She also chipped in with 126 runs at a strike rate of 159.49 and described her performances in Australia as "the best I've bowled for a while".

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