London, June 26 – The retirement of stalwarts Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt and seamer Emily Arlott testing Covid-positive has forced the England women’s squad for the one-off Test against South Africa into a reshuffle, with an uncapped player upgraded from the reserve list.
The Test will be played from June 27-30 at the Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton.
Uncapped pace bowler Issy Wong has been upgraded from the reserve list and into the 13-player squad for the four-day clash and is in contention to claim the spots left vacant by the recently retired duo of Shrubsole and Brunt.
Wong is among a group of players that could earn a Test debut, with fellow seamers Freya Davies and Lauren Bell, batter Emma Lamb and all-rounder Alice Davidson-Richards all having a chance of earning a first cap and taking on the Sune Luus-led South Africa.
England skipper Heather Knight will once again lead the new-look team, with star spinner Sophie Ecclestone and key batter Nat Sciver expected to play a pivotal role in England’s prospects during the match.
England drew their one-off Test against Australia earlier this year, while South Africa haven’t played a red-ball clash since they took on India back in 2014.
Following the one-off Test in Taunton, England will host South Africa in three ODIs and three T20I in July.
England Test squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Kate Cross, Alice Davidson-Richards, Freya Davies, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Amy Jones, Emma Lamb, Nat Sciver, Issy Wong.
South Africa squad (for Test and ODI series): Sune Luus (c), Anneke Bosch, Trisha Chetty, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Shabnim Ismail, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Lizelle Lee, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Andrie Steyn, Chloe Tryon, Laura Wolvaardt.
Schedule:
One-off Test: June 27-30, Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.
ODIs: July 11, 15 and 18.
T20Is: July 21, 23 and 25.
