
England given injury boost as former captain Heather Knight named in Women's World Cup squad
Knight has not played since damaging her hamstring in May but takes her place in a 15-strong squad for the tournament in India and Sri Lanka, which runs from 30 September 30 to 2 November.
With conditions on the sub-continent set to offer turn, head coach Charlotte Edwards has included four specialist spinners.
Sophie Ecclestone, Linsey Smith and Charlie Dean are joined by leg-spinner Sarah Glenn, who had been overlooked for the recent series against India but is now set for her first 50-over World Cup. She effectively takes the place of Cross, who is edged out of a reduced pace lineup.
Danni Wyatt-Hodge is also back after losing her place in the ODI setup after last winter's Ashes defeat, while Maia Bouchier and Alice Davidson-Richards have missed the cut.
Head Coach Charlotte Edwards said: 'Being selected to play for your country in a World Cup is one of the biggest honours in sport and I'm delighted for all the players named in the squad.
'Like all global tournaments, it will be a huge challenge but we want to go as far as we possibly can in India and I believe that if we play our best cricket we can compete with anyone.'
England squad for 2025 Women's Cricket World Cup
Em Arlott (Warwickshire)
Tammy Beaumont (The Blaze)
Lauren Bell (Hampshire)
Alice Capsey (Surrey)
Charlie Dean (Somerset)
Sophia Dunkley (Surrey)
Sophie Ecclestone (Lancashire)
Lauren Filer (Durham)
Sarah Glenn (The Blaze)
Amy Jones (The Blaze)
Heather Knight (Somerset)
Emma Lamb (Lancashire)
Nat Sciver-Brunt (The Blaze; captain)
Linsey Smith (Hampshire)
Danni Wyatt-Hodge (Surrey)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
22 minutes ago
- Reuters
Reports: Eagles WR Johnny Wilson out for season
August 21 - Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Johnny Wilson will have season-ending surgery on his knee and ankle, multiple outlets reported Thursday. Wilson sustained the injury at practice on Tuesday when his left leg got rolled up on during a running play. He left on a cart after being evaluated in the medical tent. The 6-foot-6 Wilson was drafted in the sixth round in 2024 and caught five passes for 38 yards and one touchdown in 16 games (four starts) last season for the Super Bowl champions. Wilson, 24, caught three passes for 73 yards in the Aug. 7 preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. The loss of Wilson makes Sunday's acquisition of wide receiver John Metchie III from the Houston Texans even more timely. Metchie, 25, had 40 receptions for 412 yards and one TD in 29 games with Houston over the past two seasons. He was a second-round pick in the 2022 draft but missed that season due to a battle with leukemia. --Field Level Media


Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Tottenham dealt fresh injury blow with star man ruled out until the NEW YEAR as Thomas Frank ramps up search for reinforcements after Eberechi Eze snub
Tottenham do not expect Dejan Kulusevski back in action before the end of the calendar year. Kulusevski underwent knee surgery in May after suffering an injury in a defeat by Crystal Palace. He missed the end of the season including the triumphant Europa League final and his extended absence has fuelled their quest to sign a creative playmaker this summer. James Maddison is also likely to miss most of the season ahead after damaging knee ligaments in a preseason friendly and Spurs have failed in their attempts to sign Morgan Gibbs White from Nottingham Forest and Eberechi Eze from Palace. Tottenham's new head coach Thomas Frank has thus far been reluctant to put any sort of time frame on Kulusevski's possible return. When he was asked at his unveiling press conference in July, Frank refused to confirm anything other than that he would not be ready for the start of the season. However, the 25-year-old Sweden international, who has proved effective both wide on the right and centrally as a creative number 10, appears likely to be out until the end of this year. Spurs are stepping up their pursuit of alternative targets after conceding Eze will join Arsenal. These include Nico Paz of Como, Maghnes Akliouche of Monaco and Savinho of Manchester City.


Belfast Telegraph
24 minutes ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Northern Ireland goalkeeper could yet feature in World Cup qualifiers, insists manager
Charles was named in O'Neill's squad on Thursday for next month's double header after news emerged from his club that the 20-year-old had suffered the injury, with the Owls stating he would be absent for 'the immediate clutch of games'. In his Thursday press conference, Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen, when speaking about Charles, said 'some weeks for sure he will be out', adding that the club would be seeking to sign a goalkeeper on an emergency loan as cover. Asked about Charles being included in O'Neill's panel, Pedersen stated: 'I saw that he was named and I know the club are in contact with Northern Ireland and I'm sure they will find a way how they have to handle this situation.' It would be a massive blow for Northern Ireland if Charles was unavailable for the start of the World Cup qualifying campaign. The youngster has established himself as the number one for the country, and his passing ability is vital to how O'Neill's team play and start build-ups. Conor Hazard started in the friendly loss in Denmark in June and is viewed as the number two between the sticks, but he is not in the squad due to injury, meaning a recall for the experienced Bailey Peacock-Farrell alongside side Luke Southwood. Speaking about the Charles situation, O'Neill said: 'If you lose an outfield player, you can do something tactically to compensate for that. For the goalkeeper you can't, you've just got to replace him. 'We all know what Pierce brings in terms of his distribution, there's a calmness in him as well. But, equally, we have a very experienced goalkeeper (Peacock-Farrell) coming back into the squad. 'You can't control these situations. I just have to make sure that the team's as ready as possible.' O'Neill added: 'I certainly haven't written the chance of Pierce playing off at all. We're two weeks away from the game. If you were in a club situation you wouldn't write a player off. With the medical team there's investigations still going on into the injury. We'll see what emerges in the next few days. 'If Pierce is not available to us, our approach might be slightly different. We did that in Denmark. 'The reason for playing Conor (Hazard) in Denmark was what would we do if Pierce was unavailable to us? The downside to that is now that Conor's unavailable to us as well. But, for example, when Conor played in the Denmark game, we kicked longer mostly and we didn't bring ourselves under pressure. 'We didn't make decisions that would bring pressure on to the back four and put the goalkeeper in a difficult position.' On Peacock-Farrell returning to the fold, O'Neill said: 'Bailey is an experienced goalkeeper. If you look, he's got 48 caps so he's not a kid anymore. 'I think he's had his best periods as a goalkeeper when he's been on loan. Obviously he's on another loan now (at Blackpool). The initial move to Birmingham, he's honest enough to know that it hasn't gone as well as what he would have hoped. 'He has a chance now at a very good club. I've watched him in the first game of the season and I think he's at a club that have ambitions to play in the Championship. It is a really good opportunity for him. 'I just think Bailey needs games. He's the most experienced goalkeeper we have in terms of club and international football. It's good to have him back.' Also returning to the squad after missing the 2-1 loss in Denmark and 1-0 win at home to Iceland in June are Paddy McNair, Eoin Toal and in-form striker Jamie Reid.