Lauren Winfield-Hill rewarded for excellent 2022 with England recall

Winfield-Hill was dropped during the World Cup earlier this year but has earned a recall on the back of a fine year for the opener

Lauren Winfield-Hill has been rewarded for her exceptional form through the summer with a recall to England's T20I squad for the white-ball tour of West Indies.

The trip will be Jon Lewis' first assignment after replacing Lisa Keightley as head coach last week.

His first squad shows most of the hallmarks of the group that Keightley was putting together, although the fact that Lewis wasn't directly involved in selection on this occasion perhaps means such continuity should come as little surprise.

Winfield-Hill's recall is a victory of willpower and mental strength after the opener was dropped during this year's 50-over World Cup and lost her central contract earlier this month.

England ODI squad

Heather Knight, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Alice Davidson-Richards, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Emma Lamb, Nat Sciver, Danni Wyatt

She fought back from losing her spot to win the player-of-the-tournament award in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, in which her Northern Diamonds side was victorious, and play a starring role for Oval Invincibles in The Hundred, winning the competition in her first year with Jon Batty's team.

Batty, who was reportedly also considered for Keightley's position, then signed Winfield-Hill for Melbourne Stars in the Women's Big Bash, where she opened the batting and featured alongside Alice Capsey, with whom she will share an England squad for the first time in the Caribbean.

"It's pleasing to see a player go through a tough period and come back stronger, while demonstrating terrific form at domestic and franchise level," said Lewis, who has left his job as the ECB's men's elite pace bowling coach. "I have been particularly impressed with Lauren's ability to put the bowlers under pressure and score at an impressive run rate in the powerplay."

^{Jon Lewis will take charge of England for the first time during a tour of the Caribbean, which includes three ODIs and five T20Is (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)}

Heather Knight also returns after a hip problem curtailed her summer before the beginning of the Commonwealth Games, while Nat Sciver is back after missing the series against India to prioritise her mental health and wellbeing. Katherine Brunt had her workload managed through that same period – and that will continue with an eye on the T20 World Cup in February, but she also returns.

Lewis added: "It's great to have Heather, Nat and Katherine back in the group. The quality and experience they bring can only add huge value both on and off the field."

Alice Davidson-Richards also makes the ODI squad despite not picking up a central contract, while Tammy Beaumont hasn't made it back into England's T20I squad after a disappointing WBBL campaign with Sydney Thunder. There is no place in the touring party for Bryony Smith, who was deployed as a T20I pinch-hitter during the summer and provided an extra off-spin option.

England T20I squad

Heather Knight, Lauren Bell, Katherine Brunt, Alice Capsey, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Nat Sciver, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Issy Wong, Danni Wyatt

Issy Wong, who was withdrawn from the WBBL in coordination with England's medical team to manage a back issue, is only included in the T20I squad despite making her ODI debut during the summer. Kate Cross, by contrast, is only involved in the ODI party.

Winfield-Hill's inclusion, though, is particularly significant in light of her axing earlier this year. It is yet more evidence that this increasingly professionalised era of English women's cricket will be more fluid and flexible, where international selection is concerned. Many assumed that there wouldn't be another opportunity. Six years have passed since she last made an international half century, but arguably she has played better in 2022 than ever before.

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