Tilly Corteen-Coleman, the 18-year-old uncapped left-arm spinner from Surrey, has been picked in England's squad for the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup.
Corteen-Coleman has been one of England's standout young players over the last couple of seasons, ever since she made her mark in domestic cricket as a 16-year-old. She picked up 11 wickets in 9 matches in the latest season of The Hundred, at an impressive economy rate of 5.75. Her performances were instrumental in Southern Brave's run to the final, much like it was for South East Stars in their run to the final of the Charlotte Edwards Cup in 2024. She has continued her impressive form even in the domestic one-dayers this season, picking up 10 wickets in seven innings.
She will bolster the spin attack which also includes Linsey Smith, Sophie Ecclestone and Charlie Dean, apart from the all-round option of Alice Capsey. Meanwhile, leggie Sarah Glenn was not considered for selection since she is recovering from a finger injury.
The 15-player squad, led by Nat Sciver-Brunt was announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board on Monday. Dean has been named Sciver-Brunt's deputy in the squad, which also includes Issy Wong and Lauren Filer, who will be featuring in their first-ever T20 World Cup. They will be part of the pace attack which also includes Lauren Bell, Dani Gibson, Freya Kemp and Sciver-Brunt.
Tammy Beaumont, who captained England in their last T20I, has been left out of the side. Meanwhile, the 19-year-old Davina Perrin who had an impressive run in The Hundred and a couple of good knocks in the domestic one-dayers, also doesn't find a place.
The same squad will be available to play in the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand and India.
England have won the Women's T20 World Cup only once, in the inaugural edition. Charlotte Edwards, who had captained the side then in 2009 and now serves as the head coach of the team, admitted that it was 'incredibly tough to get to these 15 names.'
"This is the hardest set of selection meetings I have been a part of because the pool of players to choose from is so strong and so many talented players have put their hand up to be a part of the squad, which is exactly what we want. That is the nature of world-class sport, and it is a privilege we don't take lightly to be able to make these difficult decisions," Edwards said.
"An ICC Women's T20 World Cup on home soil is a special moment for the game in this country, and we are all really motivated by what could be ahead for this group of players and what they can achieve this summer."
Nat Sciver-Brunt, who will be leading the side for the first time in a T20 World Cup, added: "It is a huge honour to be leading England into a T20 World Cup at home in front of family and friends and all our passionate supporters.
"We have all been looking forward to this summer and this tournament for some time now and the naming of the squad means it is almost here and we can't wait to get out onto the field and give it everything to win this World Cup again.
"I know how much winning in 2009 meant to the players and to Charlotte Edwards as captain, and being in the team under Heather Knight's leadership for the 2017 ODI World Cup win was incredibly special.
"Now the aim is to do something similar with this fantastic group of players who I know are putting their heart and soul into achieving our goal, and that hard work will continue right throughout the summer as we start with games against New Zealand and India before that tournament begins."
Meanwhile, the England selectors named the squads for the upcoming one-day series against New Zealand. The squad includes the uncapped duo of Kira Chathli (the uncapped wicketkeeper-batter from Surrey) and Jodi Grewcock (the left-handed batter from Northamptonshire).
Chathli enjoyed an impressive run at The Hundred last season for London Spirit, where she scored 220 runs in nine matches at a strike-rate of 150.68. In the last five games for Surrey, she has also cracked a couple of half-centuries in the one-day competition.
Sophia Dunkley and Dean will miss the ODI series to manage their workloads, and Wyatt-Hodge has taken a break for the imminent arrival of her first baby.
Speaking on the squad, Clare Connor, the Managing Director of England Women's Cricket, said: "World Cups on home soil are extraordinarily special occasions and we couldn't be more excited by the squad we have selected after some tough selection conversations.
"On the back of a productive winter, and with a good block of international cricket to come in May, we are confident that this squad will head into the first game on 12 June at Edgbaston in the best possible position to deliver inspiring performances and a tournament for all our fans to enjoy. Every player should be extremely proud of their selection. We believe they can go all the way and write the next chapter of England Women's cricket."
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Gaby Lewis, the Ireland captain, has returned home from England, where she was playing for Lancashire in the domestic One-Day Cup, after injuring her thigh. She is currently undergoing treatment in Dublin and hoping to be ready for Ireland's summer matches, which includes a tri-series against Pakistan and West Indies followed by the T20 World Cup and the home one-day series against West Indies.
