Team Preview: New look gives fresh hope to 50 over champions

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Jamie Ramage
New Update
England will be looking to emulate their team of 2009 when they held both the 50 over world cup and the T20 world cup. The World T20 has been a defining competition for England; they were the inaugural champions. It was also the tournament that saw Charlotte Edwards bow out of international cricket.



This year’s competition should be no different with Heather Knight’s side taking three uncapped players as the side that won last year's World Cup starting to transition. Expectations will be high as the squad has plenty of T20 experience in the form of the Kia Super League.



Strengths



The experience at the core of the squad is one of the strengths of the side coached by Mark Robinson. Heather Knight is an exceptional leader who has played in the T20 format in the world’s toughest T20 domestic leagues as well as leading England to world cup victory last year.



She will have the likes of Jenny Gunn, Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole to bounce ideas off. These three will do the majority of the seam bowling along with Nat Sciver. When you add in Danielle Hazell, the off-spinner, who is one of the most respected bowlers in this format, England have the luxury of players that have been here before.



On slow and low pitches, England has loads of spin options with all the new players in the squad Linsey Smith, Kirstie Gordon and Sophia Dunkley all taking important wickets in the summer's Kia Super League.



Key Players



England’s chances will rest on the ability of the top order and in Tammy Beaumont and Danni Wyatt they have the potential to take games away in the powerplay overs. Beaumont had a successful summer scoring bucket loads of runs and England will hope that her form can carry on.



Wyatt, on the other hand, had a relatively quiet summer but if she can regain that form she showed in the Ashes last winter, England will no doubt be competitive.



Nat Sciver is another player that England will need to be firing, not only can she hit big but she can score all around the ground. A productive summer for Surrey Stars showed just what she can do in this format.



Areas of concern



The absence of Sarah Taylor is an area of concern, because not only is she a destructive batter and world-class wicket-keeper but her presence in the side just lifts the other. However, her long-term health is more important. Amy Jones has shown in the last six months that England has a more than adequate replacement.



Another area for concern is the inexperience of the spin options. After Danni Hazell, Sophie Ecclestone is the only other spinner with international caps. Smith and Gordon did show that they can control games in the middle overs as they helped Loughborough Lightning to the final of the Kia Super League.



Youngsters to watch out for



Despite being 19, Ecclestone has rarely looked out of place on the international scene. Every time it looks like the batter gets on top, she finds an answer and does so with a calmness that is seen more in players with twice her experience.



Performance over last editions



With the exception of 2010, England have made the semi-finals of each competition and finishing as runners-up in 2012 and 2014. They did win the first edition in 2009 at Lord’s beating New Zealand in the final.



Squad:



Heather Knight (c), Anya Shrubsole, Nat Sciver, Katherine Brunt, Amy Jones, Jenny Gunn, Danni Wyatt, Danielle Hazell, Kirstie Gordon, Sophie Ecclestone, Sophia Dunkley, Tammy Beaumont, Tash Farrant, Linsey Smith, Lauren Winfield.
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