Fast bowler Kate Cross has been named in England’s squad for the women’s Ashes starting in Australia next month.
The 33-year-old suffered a back spasm in the third ODI against South Africa earlier this month and missed the one-off test against the Proteas.
Heather Knights will be captaining the side across all formats during the tour that features three ODIs, three T20s and a four-day test match.
England will be sticking to the group that claimed a 2-1 victory over South Africa, barring the exclusion of all-rounder Freya Kemp, who only features in the T20 squad.
Meanwhile, Bess Heath has recovered from a fractured thumb that saw her sent home during the South Africa tour to be named in England’s 16-player group for the three T20Is.
Women’s Ashes 2025 squads locked in 🤩
Australia, here we come 🔜 pic.twitter.com/XvSe2ra3iL
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 23, 2024
Alice Capsey has been included in the T20I squad after being dropped from the shortest format for the South Africa tour although she was later called back as an injury cover.
“We have named balanced squads for this Ashes with a good mix of youth and experience. Ashes series are always special,” said England head coach Jon Lewis.
“We want to go there, play our way and are all excited about the challenges ahead.”
England secured a dominant 286-run victory in the one-off test earlier this month. England followed their 3-0 clean sweep of the T20Is and their 2-1 win in the ODI leg.
“I think we’ll take great confidence from it,” Knight said of the Test victory.
“I think whenever we play Test cricket, because we play it so scarcely, you’re always learning about how you go about it, the different tactics, the different periods of the game that you have to manage, and how that varies as conditions change.
“I think we (ticked a lot of boxes ahead of the Ashes). It was a really important tour for us, coming off the back of that disappointment at the World Cup, I think we had a lot of really good conversations about how we wanted to move forward, and how we wanted to not rip up trees, but go back to that freedom, particularly in the white-ball stuff, that we want to play with as a side.”
England will start in Sydney on January 02 and will be playing a warm match against Governor General’s Xl on January 09.
The series begins with the ODI leg with the first ODI match played on January 11 at Sydney Cricket Ground.
England Women Squad
ODI Squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.
T20I squad: Heather Knight (c), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Linsey Smith, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.
Test Squad: Heather Knight (c), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.
