‘Nobody can take their place for granted’

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 today 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.

“It’s a special place to be in terms of how competitive it is and how we’re pushing the game forward.”

Despite her outlook, Glenn’s place looks fairly untouchable for the time being. The leg-spinner has formed a strong unit with left-armer Sophie Ecclestone and offspinner 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.

Dean, 23, pictured, is a former Portsmouth Grammar School pupil, who started her cricketing career at Havant, where he father Steve played.