If you are England’s selectors, what is your main priority when you take on New Zealand for the final game tour? Is it to select your best team in the hope of securing a clean sweep of the T20 series? Or do you try new combinations hoping that even if the result goes against you, you have looked at your options going forward?
While Sophia Dunkley managed to get out in the middle of the
second T20I, she didn’t face a ball. She must get a chance to bat for a while. There
is nothing better than having the experience of getting bat on ball. Even if it
is a struggle, it will allow Dunkley to work on aspects of her game.
I would also not be opposed to giving Sarah Glenn a chance
to be floated up the order. If the runs are flowing, it would be good to see
Glenn allowed to smash it to all corners of the ground. She has
impressed the coaching staff with her range of hitting.
One of the biggest problems with England’s batting is that
there are too many openers for too few spaces. Amy Jones moved down the order
to an unfamiliar role to her, but at six, the principles of scoring quick runs are
much the same.
Freya Davies needs to be given a run of games now. If that
means that more senior players are rested for T20 action, then so be it. We know
what Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt can do.
Would it be worth giving Issy Wong a game tonight? I think
it would be. Just allow her to run in and bowl with some pace. The more she is
trusted to tear through teams, the sooner Wong will get it right.
It is difficult to say when the England players will be available
for the regional hubs, but I hope that as many players get given a good run
out. With the county T20 competition set to start the domestic season at the
end of April, there is a sense that it is a proper season rather than sporadic blocks
of cricket through the season.
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