Glenn relishing competition for places
England spinner Sarah Glenn believes nobody can afford to take their spot for granted as competition for places rises ahead of the T20 World Cup.
The international season gets under way at Edgbaston tomorrow when England take on Pakistan in the first of six white-ball matches in front of an expected 15,000 crowd.
Head coach Jon Lewis has shown a ruthless side in his squad selection, overlooking established batter Sophia Dunkley, exciting seamer Issy Wong and the consistent Hollie Armitage. Tammy Beaumont, meanwhile, is included only for the ODI leg.
And, with the next global tournament coming up in Bangladesh less than six months away, Glenn thinks the battle for shirts is a show of strength.
“The progress in regional cricket has been amazing in the last couple of years, the game is growing more and more,” she said.
“Even though those amazing players are left out it still feels like they are part of the group and they could come in any minute. It also feels like anyone else could be dropped out at any minute. Obviously you don’t want to be dropped but it’s a special place to be in terms of how competitive it is and how we’re pushing the game forward. It makes you work hard on your game as well and it’s positive signs to see that happening.”
Despite her outlook, Glenn’s place looks fairly untouchable for the time being. The leg-spinner has formed a strong unit with leftarmer Sophie Ecclestone and off-spinner Charlie Dean, with all three currently ranked in the top six in the global T20 rankings.
Lewis described the trio as “the envy of the world” in India last year but Glenn knows there are alternatives around the circuit, including current squad member Linsey
Smith.
“I definitely feel we are quite a strong trio but it also feels like you could make a swap at any time,” she said.
“We’ve seen so many talented spinners in the regional set-up perform consistently so the pressure is always on to keep your place.”