ELIZABETH BOTCHERBY takes a look at Spirit's player recruitment and suggests what more needs to be done before the start of the new season
Who has been retained?
England captain Heather Knight headlines the retentions for London Spirit while fellow England international Freya Davies and upcoming bowling allrounder Charlie Dean have also kept their contracts.
In total, they’ve retained eight members of their 2021 squad, with Naomi Dattani, teenage allrounder Grace Scrivens, wicketkeeper Amara Carr and Southern Vipers allrounder Alice Monaghan staying at Lord’s for another season.
Who has been released?
Several big names have left Spirit, including international trio Deandra Dottin, Deepti Sharma and Chloe Tryon, and England international Tammy Beaumont. Sharma, in particular, is a huge loss as she picked up a team-leading 10 wickets and conceded just 0.87 runs per ball in 2021.
Veteran middle-order batter Susie Rowe retired in November while Aylish Cranstone and Sophie Munro have been deemed surplus to requirements.
Heather Knight remains as London Spirit captain
Which areas are well covered?
London Spirit’s biggest strength in 2021 was their economical bowlers and they’ve kept hold of Knight, Davies and Dean who all conceded less than 1.2 runs per ball. Hanging onto Dean, one of the breakout stars of 2021, is in itself a huge coup.
In Knight, they also have a vastly experienced captain who leads from the front with bat and ball.
Which areas lack cover?
To not sugar coat things, London Spirit have issues in all areas.
In not retaining Sharma, Dottin, Beaumont, and Tryon, they have a huge hole in their top six and need two new openers and some middle-order firepower. Their decision to dispense with the quartet is justified by their performances last season – they scored 403 runs while Knight on her own scored 214 – but it’s a huge rebuild.
A finisher to support Gibson, who scored 108 runs at a blistering 180 strike rate in 2021, would also be useful, as would an additional wicketkeeper to provide competition for Carr.
With the ball, the seam department has been gutted, leaving just Davies, Gibson and part-timer Dattani, while the departure of Sharma is a severe blow to the spin line-up.
And if their new recruits could be experienced players, that would be handy. While Scrivens, Dean and Gibson are promising talents, they are all 21 or younger and still in the early stages of their careers.
All in all, it’s quite a lengthy shopping list for Spirit, but with three vacancies in the top two salary bands and one at £18,750, they have a sizable purse to attract some top players.
Squad: Amara Carr, Freya Davies, Naomi Dattani, Charlie Dean, Danielle Gibson, Heather Knight, Alice Monaghan, Grace Scrivens (8)
Overseas players: 0
Spaces to fill: 8
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