A 15-player England Women Cricket Pathway squad will travel to Abu Dhabi for a training camp, with Durham’s Mady Villiers and Bess Heath named in the squad.
The camp is an opportunity for the six players involved in the England Women Pace Bowling Performance Programme to further their skills in warm conditions and an opportunity for further players across different skill sets to gain some competitive scenario practice.
Ryana MacDonald-Gay (Surrey), Grace Potts (Lancashire), Emma Jones (Surrey), Alexa Stonehouse (Surrey), Issy Wong and Katie George (both Warwickshire) are all part of the pace programme. They are joined by a number of players who represented England in last year’s tour of Ireland as well as Essex and former England Women U19 duo Grace Scrivens and Jodi Grewcock.
The group travel today and return to the UK on Saturday 8 March.
England Women Performance Pace Bowling Coach Chris Liddle said: “We are really looking forward to this camp in Abu Dhabi, which will be an important training block for all 15 players in a warm environment, training on grass.
“Within the player group, we are also excited for the next phase of our pace programme and getting the players exposed to scenario training and the challenges that it brings.
“We have seen some great improvements over the winter in each player and this camp provides a further step in their growth, allowing improvements made already to be developed under further pressure.”
England Women squad
Hannah Baker (Warwickshire), Georgia Davis (Warwickshire), Mahika Gaur (Lancashire), Katie George (Warwickshire), Jodi Grewcock (Essex), Bess Heath (Durham), Emma Jones (Surrey), Freya Kemp (Hampshire), Ryana MacDonald-Gay (Surrey), Grace Potts (Lancashire), Grace Scrivens (Essex)
Seren Smale (Lancashire), Alexa Stonehouse (Surrey), Mady Villiers (Durham), Issy Wong (Warwickshire)