England women announce Ashes squad

England have announced a squad of 14 to face Australia in their forthcoming series this summer. Jo Watts is set to make her debut, while Nicki Shaw, who played in the World Cup, misses out. The series kicks off on August 9th with the first of the two Ashes Tests, and there is also the NatWest Series - five one-day matches - and a Twenty20 match at stake.

Watts, an 18-year-old offspinner from Kent, has been included in the squad after impressing at the recent Super Fours competition in Beckenham. "She was the strongest spinner on show," England's head coach Richard Bates told Cricinfo. "She's the only uncapped player in our squad, but she shows a lot of aggression. She brings a certain balance and will add depth to our spin bowling department." Watts will provide spin support to the frontline spinners Clare Connor and Rosalie Birch.

Bates admitted that the loss of the pace bowler Lucy Pearson - who retired after the World Cup - would be a blow to the squad. "Her experience was invaluable," he said, "and she was the spearhead of our attack for some years". However, he said that he was confident that Jenny Gunn and Kathryn Brunt would be able to lead the pace attack. "They are very young but very able replacements as strike bowlers. She [Lucy] will be missed but we have every confidence in the young strike bowlers who are coming through right now."

But while the key battles for the men this summer will be the Ashes Tests, Connor, the England women's captain, admitted to Cricinfo that they would prefer to win the one-day matches in the NatWest Series. "How we do in one-day cricket is how we are judged," Connor said. "It's difficult to go straight into a Test series having not played anything longer than the 50-over form of the game, especially against Australia. But it's a tradition that we do want to keep going. We want to approach it positively and look to score at a good rate and use it as practice for the one-day format of the game because that is, ultimately, what we are judged on. All our tactical preparation goes into that because that's the ultimate test in world cricket for us."

Connor has been suffering from an ankle complaint since before the World Cup and has two injections so far, and is due for another one shortly. However, she says she should be fit for the Australian series, and has been having rehabilitation at Loughborough. "I am in very good hands," she said, and she is looking forward to the challenge ahead. "The Australians are a great side and, historically, Cathryn Fitzpatrick has done some damage to us, but she's nearing the end of her career and the more we know about her the better prepared we are to face her. Belinda Clark and Karen Rolton are two of the leading batters in the women's game, so we're relishing the opportunity to play against them.

Connor, who has never beaten Australia when playing for England, is confident that she can lead them to success at long last. "I really believe we are bridging the gap between England and Australia, and I felt we learnt that in the World Cup semi-final. We challenged them and put them under pressure, so it will definitely be an exciting series. I'm confident."

"We have an excellent chance of winning the Ashes," added Bates. "We have an excellent chance in all three of the formats, but obviously Australia are the best team in the world. But we are progressing and we are very confident. Australia are quite capable of beating us, but we are quite capable of beating them. The key is to get a win under our belts."

England squad Clare Connor (capt), Charlotte Edwards, Rosalie Birch, Arran Brindle, Katherine Brunt, Lydia Greenway, Isa Guha, Jenny Gunn, Beth Morgan, Laura Newton, Jane Smit (wk), Claire Taylor, Clare Taylor, Jo Watts.