Danni Wyatt, Sophie Ecclestone, Nat Sciver-Brunt & Alice Capsey choose WPL over England duty vs New Zealand
English players Danni Wyatt, Sophie Ecclestone, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsey will all be available for the entirety of the Women's Premier League. The quartet will miss the first three T20Is of England's five-match series against New Zealand to be present for the franchise competition.
The WPL will be played between February 23 and March 17, and the international bilateral series will commence on March 19 in Dunedin. Despite the two-day gap, reports suggested that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had given six players who are part of WPL teams an ultimatum to choose one.
Two of them, Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Heather Knight and UP Warriorz pacer Lauren Bell, pulled out of the tournament. But the aforementioned four players didn't.
While announcing the squad for the five T20Is and three ODIs on Thursday, the ECB said that all of them will be available from the fourth T20I onwards. The board also said they had backed all players to be a part of the WPL throughout.
“The short window of just one or two days between the end of the WPL and the first IT20 in New Zealand has meant we have needed to balance the challenges of long-term workload management for players, allowing participation in the WPL and ensuring we give clarity to the group of players preparing for the first three IT20s," Jonathan Finch, the England Women's Cricket Director, said.
“As a result, we have named two IT20 squads with the WPL players being available for the fourth and fifth matches of the series. All players participating in the WPL were given our backing to remain in India for the duration of the tournament. Lauren Bell and Heather Knight have withdrawn from the WPL to ensure they can be available for all IT20 games in New Zealand. They withdrew once they learnt that the WPL regulations don't allow for replacements mid- tournament, not wanting their respective WPL teams to be disadvantaged by their early departure.“
For the first three T20Is, England have included spinners Hollie Armitage and Linsey Smith as replacements.
England women's squad for the New Zealand T20Is and ODIs
England's squad for the first three T20Is: Hollie Armitage, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Heather Knight and Linsey Smith.
England's squad for fourth and fifth T20Is and ODIs: Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danielle Wyatt.
While Capsey represents the Delhi Capitals, Sciver-Brunt is part of the Mumbai Indians. Ecclestone and Wyatt turn out for the UP Warriorz.
Apart from them, England's head coach Jon Lewis, who also leads the Warriorz, will leave the WPL early to be available for the New Zealand series.