Tom Marquand heads into Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes with a sense of frustration.

He rides My Prospero in the 10-furlong Group One contest which, in terms of quality, looks to be the cherry on the icing of the Royal Ascot cake.

Trained by William Haggas, My Prospero was beaten a neck in the St James’s Palace Stakes at the meeting last year.

He was also beaten half a length Bay Bridge, who reopposes, in the Champion Stakes over the same Ascot mile and a quarter he faces on Wednesday, a race remembered for being the brilliant Baaeed’s last run and sole defeat in his career.

This is a game of fine margins and after a sharpener over a mile on his return when fourth in the Lockinge at Newbury, Marquand hopes the Iffraj colt can finally get his just rewards.

“He had that run to open him up and, as we expected, the mile was a bit sharp, so going back up to 10 furlongs plays to his strengths,” said the jockey.

“It’s a hot renewal – probably the race of the week and fantastic for racing, but frustrating for us.

“Looking back at the run in the Champion Stakes, the change in tempo at the bend caught us out a bit. Being beaten so narrowly after that you hope you’ve got a good chance of beating them next time.

“It certainly feels like we haven’t had a true chance to show what is exactly there yet, which makes it pretty exciting.”

My Prospero was a nose behind runner-up Adayar in the Champion Stakes and the 2021 Derby winner, who won the Gordon Richards over this distance at Newmarket on his return with some ease, comes into the race with plenty of confidence behind him.

“We have been delighted with how Adayar has come forward since the Gordon Richards Stakes,” trainer Charlie Appleby told www.godolphin.com.

“It’s a very strong renewal but Adayar is in great shape and we are very much looking forward to it. The target this season has been to win a Group One over a mile and a quarter and this will hopefully be his opportunity.”

The Champion Stakes, part of the Qipco British Champions Series, saw Sir Michael Stoute’s Bay Bridge triumphant.

However, he has been narrowly beaten twice subsequently, in the Prix Ganay at ParisLongchamp on his return in April and by Luxembourg in the Tattersalls Gold Cup.

Consequently, Bay Bridge is joint-third best in the betting with My Prospero, although with plenty of rain falling ahead of the start of the meeting and heavy showers in the forecast, connections return to Ascot with plenty of optimism.

James Savage, Stoute’s assistant trainer, said: “It is what we expected, a very strong renewal. The mile-and-a-quarter division is as strong as I have seen.

“He took a step forward for every run last year. He took a massive step forward from France to the Curragh, running a big race behind Luxembourg, and we expect him to improve again at Ascot. He has trained very well.

“We are still very respectful of the opposition and if Ascot gets the forecast rain that would be positive, but he showed he is effective on good ground at the Curragh.”

Last season’s Irish Champion Stakes hero, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Luxembourg, tops the market.

The lightly-raced four-year-old, the winner of six of his nine starts, made all in the Tattersalls Gold Cup under Ryan Moore.

O’Brien said: “I’m happy with him and he progressed nicely at the Curragh from the first day to the second. I was delighted he made the running which leaves him versatile as to tactics in the race.”

Kenny McPeek sends US Grade One winner Classic Causeway over for his British debut, although he will be the big outsider of the sextet, while Mostahdaf completes the line-up.

Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the five-year-old was last seen finishing seven lengths adrift of Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan in March.

He has fallen short in his three attempts in top-class company but Angus Gold, racing manager to Sheikha Hissa’s Shadwell operation, hopes Jim Crowley’s mount will run with credit now that he drops back in trip.

“It’s a really hot race. He’s done us proud in the winter and won a lot of money in his two runs abroad,” said Gold.

“He’s a horse for Sheikha Hissa and her family to enjoy, he’s very consistent and if he’s good enough to win a Prince of Wales’s, Wednesday will tell us.

“He’s never been short of speed and there had been a train of thought, even before Dubai, that a mile and a quarter would be his best.

“He didn’t finish off his race in Dubai, to the degree people said he doesn’t stay, but equally he was the one horse off the bend who went to have a crack at Equinox and he paid the price for that later on.

“I’m not saying he doesn’t get a mile and a half, but he definitely has the pace to be competitive over a mile and a quarter.

“He’s given us all some great days and it will be fun to see where he fits in. He loves fast ground, though.”

Karl Burke’s juveniles are in rip-roaring form and Beautiful Diamond heads a sparking trio of chances for the Middleham trainer in the Queen Mary Stakes.

Having saddled Dramatised to a runaway victory in the Group Two contest last season, he would again appear to have a strong hand as he bids to back up that success in the Group Two feature on day two of Royal Ascot.

Beautiful Diamond made a winning debut, scoring by three and a half lengths at Nottingham a fortnight ago for owner Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum.

Sheikh Rashid’s racing manager Bruce Raymond feels the turnaround from her debut will not be problematic.

He said: “The timing of the race is tight from her run at Nottingham, but really that’s an after-the-race excuse.

“I think there are more worries about going from Ascot to the July Meeting at Newmarket.

“After Ascot, they tend to need a break. Of course there are exceptions, but they can run flat after Ascot.

“She cost a lot of money at the breeze-up sale. She won at Nottingham and obviously Karl expected her to go very close that day.

“She is obviously very useful, but it is a tough race. I’m hoping she will be there in a ding-dong. There are a lot of runners, but I expect her to go very well.”

Burke will also saddle Got To Love A Grey, who has won both her starts for Middleham Park Racing, taking a valuable York Listed race last month, and Lady Pink Rose, who was runner-up on her Catterick debut for Sheikh Juma.

Raymond added: “Had she (Lady Pink Rose) won at Catterick, she would have gone here without any questions. They will be delighted if she is in the first five or six.

“She was in at Ripon and I said she could be a good thing, but Sheikh Juma said he was getting a bit fed up with Ripon – let’s have a look at the Queen Mary. We can easily bring her back to Ripon afterwards. She is in with a squeak.”

Wesley Ward is no stranger to success at Royal Ascot, having saddled 12 winners in the last 14 years, and the US handler saddles Bundchen.

Bundchen was runner-up in an extended four-and-a-half-furlong fillies’ race at Keeneland on the dirt on her sole start in April.

Ward added: “I’m excited for this filly. Unfortunately she was in a race at Keeneland and the race was rained off the grass and on to the dirt that day, so she had to run on a surface she wouldn’t have preferred.

“Now that she’s back on the grass, she has had some phenomenal breezes on the Keeneland grass course and I think she will have a big run.”

Frankie Dettori appeared to hold a great chance with Laurel in the Duke of Cambridge, only for the filly to be scratched.

However, it enables him to resume his partnership with the Ralph Beckett-trained Prosperous Voyage.

Winner of the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom on her last start, the Andrew Rosen- and Marc Chan-owned four-year-old is among the leading contenders for the Group Two mile contest.

Chan’s racing manager Jamie McCalmont said: “It’s a bit different competition to Epsom here, but she didn’t have a hard race there and that should set her up for a good performance. Ralph and the team have been very happy with her since.”

“We’re sorry for the connections of Laurel, but it’s great to have Frankie back on board.”

Rogue Millennium drops back in trip to a mile for the first time in her nine-race career, having gone down by half a length to Free Wind in the Middleton at York over an extended 10 furlongs when last seen.

He trainer Tom Clover feels she will relish the stiff uphill finish and said: “She travelled so well at York. She has got better and her home work has been classy.

“A stiff mile at Ascot, I think its obviously worth a go. She seems in great form and we’re looking forward to running her.

“We don’t go there lightly. If everything falls right and we have a bit of luck, we think she’d have a good chance.”

The other Group Two contest is the Queen’s Vase, where the Dettori-ridden Gregory heads the market, bidding to remain unbeaten after two starts.

The John and Thady Gosden-trained colt won Goodwood’s Listed Cocked Hat by three lengths, but steps up an additional three furlongs.

“He is a classy performer and we were delighted with his run at Goodwood. He looks a staying type and we feel he will improve over a mile and three-quarters,” said Thady Gosden.

“It is obviously a very competitive race, but he has worked well and we hope he brings his A-game.”

Fred Wright is hoping his first professional win comes in the shape of a British title this week as he takes on Wednesday’s time trial and Sunday’s road race at the national championships.

The 24-year-old has made his name in the past couple of years with a series of plucky breakaway attempts, most notably at the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, which brought podium finishes. But missing from the palmares is a victory.

If Wright can fix that this week it will be a significant marker, but also a hugely emotional moment for him personally just days after his Bahrain-Victorious team-mate Gino Mader died as a result of injuries suffered in a crash at the Tour de Suisse last week.

When asked about Mader, who was 26, Wright struggled for words.

“I don’t know what to say about it, it’s so difficult,” he said. “It’s been an awful few days, I’ll just leave it at that. It puts so much into perspective. Just even being asked the question gets me emotional.”

And when asked what a victory in Wednesday’s time trial at the Croft Circuit near Darlington would mean to him, Wright again wrestled with his feeling

“I don’t really know at this point,” he said. “I’d be really happy, but I think with everything that’s happened it doesn’t mean f*** all to be honest. Not that it doesn’t mean f*** all, but I just really want to race my bike and enjoy racing my bike. You find a new appreciation for it, I think.”

Wright finished a close second to Ben Swift when Lincoln hosted the nationals in 2021, a race which finished with the steep cobbled climb of Michaelgate.

Sunday’s race around Saltburn-by-the-Sea is an even more challenging one, defined by the 10 ascents of Saltburn Bank and its 22 per cent gradients, but with plenty of climbing in between too.

Geraint Thomas is on a star-studded start list and backed by several Ineos Grenadiers team-mates, while Lewis Askey, Jake Stewart, Simon Carr and Owain Doull will also line up.

Wright will be racing without any team-mates and must use his breakaway expertise if he is to make a mark, but he believes in his form.

“I think with how I’m feeling on the bike at the moment I would say it suits me,” he said. “I’m not really worried. In the Dauphine (earlier this month) on the shorter climbs I felt really comfortable so I should be all right, we shall see.

“I think I just go into it knowing I’ve got a target on my back. Jake, who is a good mate of mine, has already said he’s just going to follow me. He’s got three team-mates in the race and they’re going to sit down and say, ‘Just make sure you’re with Fred’.

“But when the course is as hard as it is, on a flat road you can get followed and waste a lot of energy, but if you go for it uphill the person behind also has to work hard. I think the course being harder hopefully makes it easier to manage the fact I’m more watched.”

Wright’s decision to race the time trial was a late one. Encouraged by the fourth place he took in the time trial at the Dauphine, Wright spied an opportunity after two-time reigning champion Ethan Hayter, his former housemate, was forced to withdraw with a broken collarbone.

“I think I’ve got a good shot at winning it,” he said. “What happened to Ethan, as much as I love him, did influence my decision to ride.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to do and then when I saw he wasn’t going to do it I thought it’s good to have a hit out.”

French police are searching the headquarters of the organising committee of next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

Organisers for Paris 2024 confirmed on Tuesday an investigation was being carried out and said they were co-operating fully.

There has been no comment from police.

A Paris 2024 statement read: “A police search is currently under way at the headquarters of the Organising Committee. Paris 2024 is cooperating fully with the investigators to facilitate their investigations.”

The search is related to a probe into suspected corruption, according to various reports.

The organising committee’s offices are in the Saint-Denis area of the French capital. The Games take place from July 26-August 11 next year.

Rob Page says Wales must improve their discipline against opponents “good at the dark arts” of football.

Wales were reduced to 10 men for the second successive game as Joe Morrell was sent off in Monday’s 2-0 European Championship qualifying defeat to Turkey.

Morrell’s first-half dismissal in Samsun for a studs-up challenge on Ferdi Kadioglu came just a few days after Kieffer Moore was sent off for kicking Armenia goalkeeper Ognjen Chancharevich.

Losing players to red cards has become a recurring theme for Wales who had goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey sent off against Iran at the World Cup in November and Ethan Ampadu and Harry Wilson banished at the delayed Euro 2020 finals two years ago.

“We should be disciplined enough to keep 11 players on the pitch,” manager Page said.

“Kieffer’s fallen for it on Friday, the keeper knew exactly what he was doing. It’s the softest red card, but you lift your foot and you open yourself up for a red card.

“Joe is the same. He has not got it in him to hurt somebody, but you lift your foot and you’re asking the question.

“We frustrated Turkey and I told the players I was proud of them, but we shouldn’t have to put in a shift like that with 10 men.

“We’ve got to learn from it because these teams are good at the dark arts and we’ve got to know not to retaliate.”

Wales’ Samsun setback has left them with a mountain to climb to claim a top-two qualifying spot from Group D.

They have dropped to fourth and are five points off leaders Turkey, while Armenia and Croatia are also above Wales with games in hand.

“We’ve seen Armenia beat Latvia in the 91st minute (on Monday),” said Page.

“Both teams are capable of picking points up. There’s loads of points to play for and we have got to have that mentality where we have got to win every game now.

“To give ourselves a chance, that has got to be the mentality.”

Wales are almost certainly guaranteed a play-off place and qualifying for Germany next summer through that particular route should they not finish in the top two.

Midfielder Ampadu told S4C: “We have to pick ourselves up for the remaining group games.

“Lucky there’s still games to play and while you have a chance there’s still every hope.

“Every now and then your confidence can take a knock, but the belief is still there that we can go (to Euro 2024).

“This has not been our best camp but roll on September to put it right.”

Wales resume their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign away to bottom-placed Latvia on September 11.

They host Croatia in Cardiff in October before finishing with a November double-header away to Armenia and at home to Turkey.

England’s hopes of pressing for a fifth-day victory in their Ashes opener against Australia suffered a frustrating start as the morning session was washed out at Edgbaston.

The finale was confirmed as a 25,000 sell-out shortly after Stuart Broad produced an exhilarating double strike on the fourth evening, removing key men Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith.

Australia ended on 107 for three, needing 174 more runs to chase down 281, with England buoyant after Broad’s rabble-rousing efforts.

But overnight rain and heavy downpours on Tuesday morning meant no play was possible before an early lunch was called at 12.30pm.

The forecast is more optimistic as the day progresses, but the scheduled 98 overs are already being chipped away, leaving a potentially thrilling finish on the cards.

Conor Gallagher rose up through the international ranks alongside Bukayo Saka and has backed England’s latest hat-trick hero to get even better.

Saka took home the match ball after hitting three in Monday’s 7-0 thrashing of North Macedonia at Old Trafford on Monday night, a result which leaves England on the cusp of securing Euro 2024 qualification.

The 21-year-old’s second strike was the pick of the bunch as a brace for captain Harry Kane, a Marcus Rashford finish and Kalvin Phillips’ first England goal wrapped up a fine win in the last game of a long season.

It was a campaign which also saw Saka score three goals at the World Cup, with the progression of the Arsenal ace coming as no shock to Gallagher.

“I played with Bukayo since, I think, the Under-19s,” the Chelsea midfielder said.

“Even then you could see that he would become a top player and to see how he has progressed until now has been amazing and I am sure he is going to get even better.

“He is a special player and to get a hat-trick was amazing for him. He had an amazing performance. He is right up there (with the best) and he is only getting better.

“I think he is a very exciting talent with an exciting future and we are looking forward to seeing where it takes him.”

While Saka flourished over the course of a season in which he starred for club and country, Gallagher endured a difficult year at Stamford Bridge.

The 23-year-old featured in all-but three of Chelsea’s Premier League games but it was a season to forget for the Blues as they finished a lowly 12th.

Gallagher – who has been linked with a move away with the likes of Brighton reportedly interested – insists he is looking forward to working under new Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino and retaining his place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

“I love Chelsea,” he added. “It has been a tough season for me and the whole team so I think we will just be working hard to get us back to where we belong.

“I am always grateful to be here and for Gareth to have that trust in me despite it being a tough season for both me and Chelsea. I am really happy he has shown that trust in me still and I
think he knows I will work as hard as I can no matter what to give my best.

“I just need to keep working hard and get a bit of my confidence back in a way, I didn’t lose it but I need to get a rhythm of playing more games, score more goals and I am trying to reach that stage.

“(Pochettino) is a top manager, everyone at Chelsea is happy he’s here and we’re looking forward to working with him.”

FIFA must make sure equal conditions are in place for all players involved in qualification for the next Women’s World Cup, world players’ union FIFPRO has said.

A FIFPRO report published on Tuesday found huge variance in conditions across the qualification events run by each of the six global confederations, with some found to be “not up to the standards of elite international football”.

World Cup qualification should also be a standalone event across all confederations, rather than being achieved via performance in other tournaments such as the Copa America, FIFPRO said.

FIFPRO has praised FIFA for “listening to the voice of players” in ensuring that players at the finals in Australia and New Zealand this summer will benefit from the same playing and preparation conditions as their male counterparts did in Qatar last year.

However, it believes it is now vital that conditions are equalised for all female players involved in qualification.

“During qualification the conditions that the players are exposed to and expected to deliver in, during some of the biggest competitive moments of their lives, are not up to the standards of elite international football, putting both the players and the sport at risk,” the foreword to the Qualifying Conditions Report co-signed by FIFPRO president David Aganzo and general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann read.

“In highlighting these conditions and the status of players across the globe, FIFPRO firmly calls on the industry to take a closer look at the qualification processes in each of the six confederations.

“This is so we all can commit to meaningful changes that look at the overall opportunities the FIFA Women’s World Cup can deliver to a greater number of players than those that just appear at the final tournament in July and August this year.”

A survey of 362 players hailing from all six FIFA confederations found 29 per cent were not paid at all for participating in their qualification events.

Fifty four per cent did not receive a pre-tournament medical examination, 70 per cent did not receive a pre-tournament ECG and 39 per cent did not have access to mental health support.

Two-thirds of the players surveyed had to take leave or unpaid leave from another form of employment to participate in these tournaments, the report found.

Thirty-one per cent said training pitches were not of an elite standard, while 32 per cent said match day pitches and stadia were not of an elite standard.

Two-thirds said recovery facilities were either not of an elite standard or not provided at all, while 70 per cent reported that the gym facilities were not of an appropriate level.

“Any stat that’s below 100 per cent in terms of access to important medical checks and things like that is completely unacceptable,” FIFPRO director of global policy and strategic relations for women’s football Sarah Gregorius said.

“We just want to work with whoever wants to work with us, particularly FIFA and the confederations, to understand why that is the case and how that can be prevented (from happening again) because that is certainly not something that should be acceptable to anybody.”

The PA news agency understands the report has been shared with FIFA and the confederations.

FIFA has declined to comment on it directly, but would point to the steps it has taken to close some of the gaps which exist in the women’s game, both in enlarging the World Cup to 32 teams and increasing compensation to players and national associations.

The women’s international calendar was agreed on by all confederations on the FIFA Council after an extensive consultation process, while qualification criteria and tournaments are defined by the confederations rather than FIFA.

FIFA has also sought to improve investment in the women’s game by challenging broadcasters and sponsors, with president Gianni Infantino threatening a World Cup blackout in some countries if broadcasters did not increase their offers for the rights.

A deal with some major European markets, including the United Kingdom, was agreed last week.

Coltrane and Eldar Eldarov are among 14 runners declared for the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot on Thursday.

Winner of the Ascot Stakes 12 months ago, the Andrew Balding-trained Coltrane has since developed into a top-class stayer.

The six-year-old inflicted a shock defeat on Trueshan in last season’s Doncaster Cup before the tables were turned on Champions Day at Ascot, but Coltrane reasserted his authority on his reappearance in Ascot’s Sagaro Stakes last month and has been at the head of the Gold Cup betting ever since.

He will renew rivalry with with Adam Nicol’s Sagaro runner-up Wise Eagle and the fourth-placed Trueshan, whose trainer Alan King will have been pleased to see the rain arrive in Berkshire.

Like Coltrane, Roger Varian’s Eldar Eldarov is a previous Royal Ascot winner, having last season come out on top in a pulsating renewal of the Queen’s Vase.

The Dubawi colt went on to claim Classic glory in the St Leger and made a most encouraging start to his four-year-old campaign when runner-up in the Yorkshire Cup.

Charlie Johnston’s Subjectivist has suffered his fair share of problems since a brilliant victory in the 2021 Gold Cup, but returns in a bid to regain his crown.

Aidan O’Brien, who has won the race on a record eight occasions, this year saddles both Emily Dickinson and Broome, while Frankie Dettori partners John and Thady Gosden’s unbeaten four-year-old Courage Mon Ami in what will be his final Gold Cup before retirement.

Yibir (Charlie Appleby) and Echoes In Rain (Willie Mullins) also feature in what appears a wide-open renewal of the two-and-a-half-mile showpiece.

Day three of the Royal meeting gets underway with the Group Two Norfolk Stakes, for which Karl Burke’s dual winner Elite Status is a hot favourite to see off 15 other speedy juveniles.

His opponents include American Rascal, a son of the trainer’s dual Royal Ascot heroine Lady Aurelia, and his compatriot No Nay Mets, who will be ridden by Dettori.

Al Asifah is odds-on for a 19-runner Ribblesdale Stakes after being supplemented off the back of a scintillating Listed success at Goodwood. Infinite Cosmos (Sir Michael Stoute) and Bluestocking (Ralph Beckett) look her two biggest threats.

England’s push for victory on the final day of the Ashes curtain-raiser was set to be delayed because of heavy rain at Edgbaston.

Stuart Broad’s removal of Australia pair Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, the top two-ranked Test batters, late on day four set up the prospect of a gripping climax to the series opener on Tuesday.

But an overnight downpour continued into the morning, with play almost certain to be pushed back from the usual 11am start, with 98 overs scheduled following a rain-shortened day three.

If play does get under way, with the forecast showing an improvement for this afternoon, England need seven wickets to draw first blood against Australia, who closed on 107 for three in pursuit of 281.

England seamer Lauren Bell fell in love with Test cricket when she made her debut against South Africa last summer and hopes this week’s Ashes opener against Australia can capture the mood of the nation.

Bell made international debuts in all three formats in 2022 but her maiden red-ball appearance at Taunton stood out as an experience she will never forget.

The 22-year-old’s first outing ended in a rain-affected draw, with England pushing for victory on the fourth and final day, but Bell’s first taste of the long-form game left her eager for more.

Thursday’s clash against the world-beating Australians is set to be bigger in every sense, with both boards breaking with convention to schedule a fifth day and over 14,500 tickets sold at Trent Bridge – a venue with major Ashes tradition. And Bell can hardly wait.

“When I made my debut last year it was memorable for so many reasons but the thing that really stood out was just how special Test match cricket felt,” she told the PA news agency.

“I don’t think I had ever fully appreciated it before, but I could see just how special it was to be part of and felt so lucky to be part of it.

“From the outside, I never realised quite how much fun it could be, how much went into it, how much planning. I feel I learned as much in the space of a week as I ever had done before.

“It’s exciting to be playing at Trent Bridge this year, a big Test ground with lots of history, and we need to appreciate women’s cricket heading in the right direction and show how far we’ve come.”

Bell realises Australia’s reputation as the dominant team of their generation has been well earned but, as a 6ft fast bowler, she is not given to timidity.

“Beating Australia is the main goal for us,” she said.

“We know they have been ahead of us for the last few years, but we’ve worked really hard and there’s real confidence that we can really challenge them this year.

“We have to not be scared about failing. We can’t be worried about getting something wrong, thinking what might happen if we do.

“We’ll take the same mindset we have in T20 cricket – be confident, go to our strengths and look to take the positive options. We’ll be going out there with intent and aiming to get a result.”

Meanwhile, England all-rounders Alice Capsey and Alice Davidson-Richards have been released from the Test squad. The pair will drop down to the England A side as they prepare to take on Australia A in a T20 at Loughborough on Wednesday.

Capsey has become a central part of England’s T20 and ODI teams and had been hoping to make her first Test appearance, while Davidson-Richards finds herself out of senior squad despite hitting a century against South Africa in her only Test innings.

Alice Capsey and Alice Davidson-Richards have both been released from England’s Test squad for the Women’s Ashes in order to feature in the T20 A side in Wednesday’s meeting with Australia.

Davidson-Richards’ absence means there will be at least one change to the Ashes line-up following the Test against South Africa last year.

The Test will be England’s first over five days on home soil, and their first game played at Trent Bridge since 2000.

It will be followed by three ODIs and three T20 fixtures to decide the multi-format series.

Also selected for what will be a first T20 game for England A on Wednesday is Mahika Gaur of North West Thunder, after she was included when the senior squad gathered for a training camp early in June.

Freya Kemp, who will return to international cricket after an injury absence, South East Stars’ Bryony Smith and Linsey Smith of Southern Vipers are also in the A side.

Wednesday’s fixture at Haselgrave precedes an ODI series for the A side against Australia.

England and England A both played out draws during their three-day warm-up matches against Australia A and Australia Women.

England head of performance pathways Richard Bedbrook said: “We’re really looking forward to getting our T20 series under way.

“The A side pushed the full Australian team hard during the three-day warm-up and with a number of quality individual performances, we’re very excited to continue competing across the T20 format against the Australian A side.

“Jon Batty will lead the A side across the T20 and 50-over series. Jon has enjoyed success in The Hundred with Oval Invincibles and is vastly experienced in white-ball tournaments across the globe.”

Adam Idah is confident the Republic of Ireland have a shock result in them after belatedly igniting their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.

Monday night’s 3-0 victory over Gibraltar was their first in three attempts and came three days after a disappointing display in defeat by Greece in Athens.

They sit third in the group having played a game more than the Netherlands, whom they face in September after the little matter of beaten World Cup finalists France in Paris, but Norwich striker Idah is refusing to give up hope.

Asked if the big wins they need are possible, the 22-year-old said: “Of course, I think everyone saw it last time we played France. We were outstanding.

“I know we didn’t win, but we showed we can put up a test against these big teams. It’s up to us at the end of the day to finish that.

“I believe – and I think everyone else believes – we can go and do it. The next step is to go and show what we are about.”

If victory over Gibraltar, who are ranked 201st in the world by FIFA, was expected, it did not come easily with the sides heading for the dressing rooms at half-time with the deadlock unbroken.

However, the introduction of Celtic winger Mikey Johnston and the switch to a back four after the break paid dividends, Johnston opening the scoring with his first goal for Ireland within seven minutes of his arrival before Evan Ferguson doubled the advantage.

There was relief too for late substitute Idah, who finally opened his account at the 16th attempt in stoppage time, in the process ending talk of matching the feat of former Ireland frontman John Aldridge, who broke his duck in his 19th appearance.

Idah said: “It’s tough when you haven’t scored and played a lot of games. But I’ve spoken to people and the main thing was to stay patient, goals will come.

“My job is to score goals and that’s probably the toughest part about it, not scoring. I’ve scored and got off the mark and now I’ll try to keep scoring.”

For manager Stephen Kenny, who went into the game under extreme pressure as a result of the defeat in Greece, Idah’s exploits represented reward for the faith he has invested in a player promoted from the Under-21 ranks.

The frontman said: “I have been with Stephen since 18 years old. He has shown great faith in me.

“I haven’t scored in a lot of games. For him to keep playing me and bringing me on gives me great confidence and belief. I’m delighted to score and to repay him for all he’s done for me. I’m very appreciative for what he has done.”

James McClean, who became the seventh man to win 100 caps for Ireland, had voiced his support for Kenny during the build-up to the game, and 18-year-old Ferguson insisted afterwards the players remain firmly behind the manager.

The Brighton striker, who described his last six months for club and country as “mad”, said: “I don’t think anyone’s going against the manager. We’re all behind him and we’ve all got trust in him.”