England vs India: Emily Arlott receives maiden call-up as hosts announce expanded squad for one-off Test – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Bristol: Pacer Emily Arlott on Wednesday earned a maiden call-up to the England women’s squad for the one-off Test against India starting in Bristol on 16 June.

England have announced a 17-member squad which will be trimmed to allow non-selected players to take part in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy (RHFT).

Arlott had recently taken a hat-trick in RHFT. It was also announced that Nat Sciver will be the new vice-captain in all formats.

Heather Knight will lead the side against India who will be playing their first Test in seven years. Three ODIs and as many T20s follow the one-off Test.

File image of English seamer Emily Arlott. Image credit: Twitter/@CentralSparks

“It’s been hard to pick a squad given the balance of needing cover in a COVID world while wanting to give players as much chance as possible to play cricket,” said head coach Lisa Keightley in a ECB statement.

“We want players to have opportunities out in the middle so we’re looking to reduce our numbers slightly ahead of the Test to give the non-selected players that chance.

“I’m really excited by the summer ahead. We’ve been working really hard across the last 10 weeks, India are a strong side and it’s the beginning of a two-year journey for us that takes in two ICC World Cups, an Ashes and the Commonwealth Games,” Keightley added.

Squad: Heather Knight (c), Emily Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Georgia Elwiss, Tash Farrant, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver (vc), Anya Shrubsole, Mady Villiers, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield-Hill.