Yorkshire Diamonds duo aiming to clinch England Ashes place


Barnsley’s Katherine Brunt and York’s Lauren Winfield are joined by returning trio Sarah Taylor, Sophie Ecclestone and Jenny Gunn in the squad.
Wicketkeeper Taylor was absent for the tour of Sri Lanka as part of the management of her anxiety, while Ecclestone suffered a broken hand in the preceding trip to India to preclude the left-arm spinner’s involvement until now.
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Hide AdAll-rounder Gunn was rested for the entirety of the winter schedule, but the trio are set to return to the international fold, with Georgia Elwiss missing out through injury.


England have won their last 10 matches in all formats, dating back to the end of the one-day international series against India in late February.
Ahead of their attempts to regain the Ashes later this summer, England first take on the West Indies in three ODIs and three T20s.
The first ODI is tomorrow at Grace Road while New Road and Chelmsford are the venues for the remaining matches in a series where England would seal qualification to the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand with two victories.
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Hide AdEngland captain Heather Knight said: “It’s a massive summer for us and we’re hugely excited to get going.
“We got ourselves into a really good place towards the back-end of the India trip and then throughout Sri Lanka and I want us to maintain those levels.
“West Indies will be a big test so we’ll need to be at our best.
“The first step is qualifying for the ICC Women’s World Cup before we can begin to think about the IT20s and reclaiming the Ashes.”
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Hide AdEngland Women squad for first two ODIs against West Indies: Heather Knight (capt), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Alex Hartley, Jenny Gunn, Amy Jones, Laura Marsh, Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danni Wyatt.