Sophia Dunkley in line for ODI debut; Danielle Wyatt omitted as England announce 16-member squad

Sophia Dunkley and Emily Arlott are in line for their ODI debuts as England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced a 16-member squad for the ODI series against India, which is scheduled to begin on June 27 at the County Ground in Bristol. Opener Danielle Wyatt has been omitted from the squad while Freya Davies and Sarah Glenn return after being released from the Test squad that played the one-off Test in Bristol, ECB said in a press release on Tuesday (June 22).



22-year-old Dunkley, who made an impressive debut scoring an unbeaten 74 in England's only innings of the Bristol Test, has already played 15 T20Is for England after making her debut in T20 World Cup 2018. She made an impressive start in the ongoing RHF Trophy scoring a century against Sunrisers and scored a match-winning 92 against Western Storm. On the back of these performances, she earned her maiden central contract with England for the 2021-22 season and subsequently was called up to the Test squad.



Arlott, who is uncapped in all three formats, made it to the Test and ODI squads on the back of good performances over the last couple of years. In 2019, she took 19 wickets in 13 matches across formats and her five for 29 including a hat-trick helped Central Sparks defend a moderate total against the Southern Vipers in the third round of the RHF Trophy 2021.



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"The competition for places across all formats is growing every time we meet to select a squad. The options available to us are the strongest we've had since I’ve been in the role and we feel this group gives us a great opportunity for success in the ODI element of the series," said head coach Lisa Keightley. "We're looking forward to playing ODI cricket again after a hugely enjoyable and hard-fought Test match."



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Wyatt, who has played 77 ODIs for England, didn't have a good time during the New Zealand tour with scores of 17, zero and one in the three ODIs. Although the 30-year-old scored her maiden century in the format against Pakistan in 2019, failure in the next four innings have cost her a place in the side. Georgia Elwiss, who was part of the playing XI during the Bristol Test, has also been omitted from the squad.



"There's no space on this occasion for Danni Wyatt and Georgia Elwiss, and while I know they're both disappointed to miss out, it's important that they're given the opportunity to play cricket at a regional level ahead of the T20I series," Keightley added.



"We have to balance the needs of the squad and the need of the individual and we'll always be keen to get people playing competitive cricket where we can."



The ODIs will be part of the multi-format series and there will be a maximum of six points up for grabs. The hosts and India currently have two points each from the drawn Test match.



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England Squad: Heather Knight (c), Emily Arlott , Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone , Natasha Farrant, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Natalie Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Mady Villiers, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield-Hill