England name squad for inaugural Women's Under-19 T20 World Cup

Neither Freya Kemp nor Alice Capsey - both fully-fledged senior internationals - have been selected in the squad for the tournament, which takes place in January

Sophia Smale, who starred in The Hundred for Oval Invincibles, leads the names included in England's squad for the inaugural Women's Under-19 T20 World Cup, which takes place in January.

The left-arm spinner is one of several players to have made their mark on the domestic circuit since its regional revamp ahead of the 2020 season.

Left-arm seamer Alexa Stonehouse featured for England A earlier this year and has impressed for South East Stars, while Grace Scrivens is a talented allrounder, who was a pillar of London Spirit's campaign in The Hundred.

Emma Marlow and Lizzie Scott were both part of the Northern Diamonds side that won the Heyhoe Flint Trophy, while Josie Groves was the second-youngest player – after Smale – to make a half century in the competition in 2022. Davina Perrin, part of the ACE Elite Programme, is the youngest player in the squad; she was picked up by Birmingham Phoenix for The Hundred this summer while only 15 but didn't play.

"It's hugely exciting to name this squad and to think ahead to the opportunity that awaits the players," said Richard Bedbrook, head of England Women performance pathways, who chaired the selection panel.

He was previously South East Stars' director of cricket and oversaw the development of Alice Capsey, who is not included despite remaining eligible for selection.

The Cricketer understands that – as has often been the case in the equivalent men's tournament – it was deemed that there is too much senior cricket to be played for it to be worth Capsey stepping back into an age-group competition, with the same true for Freya Kemp, who became the second-youngest player to make an international fifty for England Women in September. Capsey is currently on Women's Big Bash duty with Melbourne Stars.

^{Neither Freya Kemp nor Alice Capsey - both fully-fledged senior internationals - have been selected (Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)}

"They're a tremendous group of young cricketers with great potential at the beginning of their journeys in the game," added Bedbrook of the squad that will travel to South Africa as one of 16 countries taking part.

"They'll all benefit hugely from this experience - on and off the field. It's important to compete at this age-group and it's equally important to continue the process of learning what it takes to progress to the next level. I'm sure we'll take a lot away from the tournament.

"We have the ambition for the next few months to be a significant life moment for all the players and ensure they use it as a springboard towards making an impact in senior regional cricket, and hopefully beyond in years to come."

England have been drawn in the same group as Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Rwanda, who are one of five associate nations involved. This is a long-awaited dawn for a tournament that was due initially to take place in 2021, only for its postponement because of the pandemic. Bangladesh then declared that they would host in December 2021, only for that plan to be curtailed for the same reasons.

Chris Guest, who was appointed as Lightning's head coach at the end of last year, will lead the team after coming out on top in the recruitment process. Laura Marsh, the former England off-spinner, will act as one of his assistants, with Darren Franklin the other.

Central Sparks are the most-represented region, with four players – Ellie Anderson, Hannah Baker, Charis Pavely and Perrin – included.

Squad: Ellie Anderson, Hannah Baker, Josie Groves, Liberty Heap, Niamh Holland, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Emma Marlow, Charis Pavely, Davina Perrin, Lizzie Scott, Grace Scrivens, Sophia Smale, Seren Smale, Alexa Stonehouse, Maddie Ward

Non-travelling reserves: Emily Churms, Charlotte Lambert, Bethan Miles, Jemima Spence, Mary Taylor

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