Six Vipers are headed to the Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE

Vipers Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Charlie Dean, Freya Kemp, Linsey Smith, and Danni Wyatt are all included in England Women’s T20 World Cup squad. The tournament will take place in the UAE, having been moved from Bangladesh, with England’s first match taking place on Saturday 5 October against the official hosts, Bangladesh. Four of the six – Bell, Dean, Kemp, and Wyatt – all took part in England Women’s previous T20 World Cup campaign in South Africa, where they reached the semi-final, whilst the call-up marks Freya Kemp’s first in a World Cup Squad. Linsey Smith made her international debut against Bangladesh in the 2018 edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup, and made a return to an England side 1,736 days after her previous cap in June 2019, where she took the wicket of former Vipers teammate Suzie Bates with her first delivery back. All six took part in series against Pakistan and New Zealand this summer, with Lauren Bell recording a career-best 5-37 at Bristol, and Maia Bouchier scoring a maiden international century at Worcester, both against the White Ferns. In the Charlotte Edwards Cup (CEC), Bouchier made a career-best T20 score, where she recorded 93 against South East Stars at Hove, having made back-to-back previous bests of 71 and 91 against New Zealand in the winter. Meanwhile, Charlie Dean showcased her all-round skills with a career-best 64* in a successful nervy chase against Northern Diamonds at Utilita Bowl,, whilst taking nine wickets in six CEC matches. In the summer, Danni Wyatt overtook Charlotte Edwards to become England Women’s all-time leading IT20 run scorer, with 2,828 runs currently to her name, with two centuries and 15 fifties. All six Vipers took part in the team's Charlotte Edwards Cup title defence, where they narrowly lost out to South East Stars in the semi-final at Derby. Jon Lewis, England Women Head Coach, said: “Selecting teams and squads with this group of players has become incredibly tricky and tough. There are players who have been really unfortunate to miss out and they’ll be a big part of what we do with England Cricket in the future. "I feel the 15 players selected give us a really well balanced squad in terms of experience, youth and most importantly the skills to cope and excel in the conditions we feel we will be faced with in the UAE.” Heather Knight, England Women Captain, said: “World Cups are always special events to be involved in as a player and I’m really excited by the squad we have selected to take over to the UAE. “It’s an honour to lead the team into another World Cup. We’re looking forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead.” England Women, who are set to feature several Vipers players in 2025, take on India in a Metro Bank One-Day International at Utilita Bowl on 16 July. For two years running, Utilita Bowl has seen sold out crowds for England Women matches, with 2025 expected to be no different To register your interest for internationals at Utilita Bowl next summer, please visit www.utilitabowl.com/internationals.