Dunkley and Smith handed debuts as Brunt flies home
England’s women will have two debutants on the team sheet in their World Twenty20 opener against Sri Lanka here tonight, provided rain stays away long enough for the sodden outfield to dry in time.
On the eve of the match, Heather Knight declared finger-spinning left-armer Linsey Smith, 23, would make her international bow, alongside 20-year-old batsman Sophia Dunkley.
In doing so, the captain confirmed Katherine Brunt, who is returning home with a back injury, would be replaced in the starting XI with a batsman, rather than a specialist bowler.
Knight, who noted it was “impossible” to replace the all-round package that Brunt provides, explained the surplus bowling overs would be made up through a combination of Nat Sciver’s medium pace and her own off-spin.
“We have decided to replace her with a batter because we have got enough in the bowling to be able to manage,” she said. “She [Brunt] is the heart of the dressing room but we have to cope without. We knew bringing her out here was a bit of a risk and that she was unlikely to play and we prepared for a life without her. There are some real characters around the team who are going to have to stand up in her absence.”
Smith first came to the attention of selectors after her performances in the initial edition of the Kia Su- per League in 2016 for Southern Vipers. Dunkley is another product of the KSL, part of the Surrey Stars outfit that won the tournament for the first time in August.
After downpours on the island nation, the playing surface was far too wet for England to train yesterday. Locals were confident there would be enough time for the field to dry, but there was little sign of the rain going away.
“Weather will play some sort of effect,” Knight said of potentially shortened games. “We were talking about the World Cup earlier and how we had to scrap and scrape and show a lot of character. I think we’re going to have to do that again.”
It is the spirit of that World Cup win that Knight is evoking to motivate her depleted group. “We have quite a unique opportunity to potentially hold both of the white-ball World Cups,” she said. “So, we have to do exactly what we did to win the last one and show a lot of fight. It is a very short tournament, So we’re going to have to be on it for every minute of every game.”
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