Women's Academy squad announced

A 14-strong England Women’s Academy (EWA) squad will head to Colombo at the end of this month to contest four T20s and two fifty-over fixtures against Sri Lanka Women.

The tour, from 29 January to 12 February, forms part of England Women’s ongoing preparations ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 competition in Bangladesh later this year.

Kent’s Tammy Beaumont will lead an experienced EWA touring party, which includes two players, in addition to Beaumont, with full international playing experience.

Twenty-one year old seam bowler Beth Langston (Essex) will be hoping to impress the England selectors ahead of the World Twenty20, after making her T20 international debut during England's tour to the West Indies before Christmas.

Top-order batter Fran Wilson (Somerset) will be aiming to emulate the type of form which saw her make her ODI and Twenty20 international debuts against Sri Lanka back in 2010.

In addition to the three players targeting a recall to the England Women’s side, the EWA squad includes a mix of exciting young prospects looking to make a positive impression. All have earned their spots on the plane to Sri Lanka following strong performances in domestic competitions last summer.

Commenting about the composition of the squad and the purpose of the tour, Head of England Women’s Cricket Clare Connor said: “The tour to Sri Lanka presents an exciting opportunity for this group of players to gain some valuable experience of playing in sub-continent conditions, and represents a strategic part of our preparation for the 2014 ICC World T20 competition in Sylhet.

“As we saw at the ICC Women’s World Cup in India in 2013, the Sri Lanka Women’s side is improving all the time and they will provide challenging opposition in the six scheduled fixtures. We have therefore selected a strong squad for this tour, mixing the likes of 2013 Women’s Ashes winner Tammy Beaumont, who will captain the side, with young up and coming talents such as Stephanie Butler from Staffordshire and Sussex’s Freya Davies.”

The players will be supported by Academy Head Coach Lisa Keightley, Assistant Coach Jonathan Finch, Team Manager Ella Donnison, and physio Phil Tranter.

Squad:

Schedule