The teenage sensation has enjoyed a rapid rise since starring in the inaugural Hundred at the age of 16, being snapped up by franchise leagues around the globe and making her international bow in both white-ball formats during the ensuing two-and-a-half-years.

Capsey played her part in the drawn Women’s Ashes last summer, but was also involved in the England team which lost in the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup at the start of 2023.

The next World Cup will take place in Bangladesh later this year and the explosive batter wants to help Heather Knight’s side go all the way.

“Hopefully we can go one better this year and not have the same disappointment we had,” Red Bull athlete Capsey told the PA news agency.

“What we’ve got in the dressing room at the moment is a really fun and supportive culture. Everyone is loving being a part of it and the freedom we’re given.

“People really came out and watched us in the Ashes, so we want to keep building momentum. We want to keep showing what women’s cricket is about.

“We speak a lot in the dressing room about inspiring and entertaining. I think that shows in how we play and I hope it does, but that’s another thing we’ll look to build on and do even better this year. It is a really exciting year.”

Last year started with Capsey facing a race against time to be fit for the T20 World Cup in February after she broke her collarbone in the West Indies two months earlier.

Capsey recovered but was out for a duck in England’s semi-final loss to South Africa before she was whisked off to India for the inaugural Women’s Premier League, where she helped Delhi Capitals finish runners-up.

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A maiden Ashes series was the next assignment for Capsey, who struck a classy 46 in a memorable five-wicket victory over Australia at a packed Lord’s and followed it up with an important 40 in another nail-bitter at Bristol.

The final act of 2023, after featuring in the Hundred and Big Bash League in Australia, was England’s tour of India where red-ball disappointment followed for the 19-year-old after she had also been overlooked for the one-off Ashes Test in June.

“It has definitely been a rollercoaster,” Capsey admitted.

“Yeah, international cricket and any international sport is hard. It takes a toll on the mind and also physically so those couple of injuries didn’t help me, but I am starting to find my way now of how to manage it all.

“It was a season of highs and lows, but I probably didn’t perform as well as I would have liked. I was a bit inconsistent and that is something I want to work on and is definitely a goal I am looking towards for 2024.

“It was a really enjoyable year. A lot of firsts again which sounds a bit crazy after the last three years but it was brilliant.

“Playing in a World Cup and things like that, they are all high-pressure moments. Hopefully the more moments like that I have, the better I will get at competing in them and the more experiences I will have to look back on.

“I guess it is kind of building a toolbox so you can come back to when the pressure is on.”

Capsey begins 2024 in India with another edition of the WPL before she joins up with the England squad for the final two T20s of a five-match series in New Zealand.

It kickstarts an action-packed year of white-ball cricket, but the all-rounder’s Test ambitions still burn brightly.

“Everyone had a lot of conversations with the management staff and it was definitely a combined decision over what was best for the individual,” Capsey explained regarding her WPL participation.

“We have a World Cup in Bangladesh and looking even more to the future we have a 50-over World Cup next year in India and this is part and parcel of my development.

“I have targeted an area I want to work on, which is spin and it is another stepping stone in my development to spend a bit longer out here and pick the brains of the people who play spin the best.

“If individuals are getting better and learning how to play their best games in those conditions, it will benefit England as well.

“Having that aspiration to continue working really hard and that end goal to make my Test debut is definitely something at the forefront of my mind and something I’m working towards.”

Red Bull athlete Alice Capsey is an England and Delhi Capitals all-rounder. Find out more about her here.

The hard-hitting West Indian’s innings came off just 59 balls and included 12 fours and two sixes.

Dottin, alongside England captain Heather Knight (20) and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt (17), helped Barmy Army Women get to 152-3 off their 20 overs.

The Falcons then needed only 17.3 overs to get to 156-2 thanks to 76 not out off 49 balls from captain Danni Wyatt.

Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu and West Indian Britney Cooper were the next best scorers with 41 and 32 not out, respectively.

The 2022 FairBreak Invitational is taking place in Dubai and is an ICC-sanctioned tournament. The inaugural edition of the competition organized by Cricket Hong Kong will comprise six teams that will have players from across the globe.

The first match was played on May 4 while May 9 and May 13 will be rest days. Both the semi-finals are slated to be played on May 14, while the third-place playoff and the final will be held on May 15.

There will be six teams that will be taking part in the inaugural season and there will be ninety players from 36 countries who will feature in the competition. Among these, 40 come from ICC full members and 50 from associate members.

Stafanie Taylor, Hayley Matthews, Deandra Dottin, Britney Cooper, Shemaine Campbelle, and Shamilia Connell are the West Indians participating.

England have mostly played Test matches on home soil, the last in June when Australia won by 89 runs at Trent Bridge.

The last time England played red-ball cricket overseas was in January 2022, when they played out a dramatic draw against Australia.

Women’s Test matches are usually one-off games as part of a multi-format series and Beaumont thinks players feel more nerves around the longest format due to the fact they do not come around that often.

She told a press conference: “You certainly feel more anxious around a Test match week.

“You have the likes of me, Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt who have been playing international cricket for 12-14 years and we haven’t even played that many Tests, maybe 10 or 12, so if you think of that as white-ball cricket that is your first year.

“So, there are more nerves because we haven’t had the opportunity to master it. You are constantly a young player in Test cricket, no matter how old your body feels. In the men’s game 10 Tests is not even a career, it’s a start.

“I love Test cricket and each and every one of us would love to play more Test cricket and I’m almost interested to see what India do with the Australia Test match straight after, so if that goes well, I could see a future doing two-Test or three-Test series against the top nations, which I think would be amazing.”

England finish their tour of India with the Test after they sealed a 2-1 win in their recent three-match T20 series at the Wankhede Stadium.

Despite the gap between Tests, Beaumont will be looking to transfer some of her form from the summer.

The right-hander hit 208 against Australia, becoming the first English woman to score a Test double-century.

She added: “(We’re) not coming in with too many preconceived ideas of how the pitch is going to play or what a Test match in India might look like.

“We have found the wickets have played nicely and there’s a bit in it for the bowlers and batters, so not thinking you have to work on playing spin so much but it’s been a really good preparation period.

“Talking about something that happened six months ago (her double-hundred against Australia) can’t really count as form but certainly nice to know that was your last Test match and you go in with a lot of confidence.”

This will be England’s first Test in India since 2005.

Beaumont is hoping they can continue the momentum of interest injected into women’s cricket from the summer following the success of the Ashes and The Hundred.

“It’s good that we got the broadcast deal so people can watch it back home,” she said.

“On the whole it has been really positive as we got a lot of sellouts in the Ashes and into the Hundred the crowds every week were a record crowd.

“I think people are really taking notice of women’s cricket in England which is good to see and hopefully they will be right behind us for the Test as well.

“We want to inspire the next generation of female cricketers, not only in England but across the world, so we will be playing a way of cricket that people will want to watch.”

With England’s first match on a white-ball tour of New Zealand starting on March 19, two days after the Women’s Premier League final, Knight withdrew from a planned stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Danni Wyatt and Alice Capsey had England’s blessing to go to the WPL and will therefore miss the first three of five T20s against the White Ferns this month.

It is hoped a repeat scenario can be avoided in the future with a specially-designated WPL window but Knight is aware the proliferation of domestic T20 tournaments opens avenues to women like never before.

“It was a pretty easy decision for me as England captain, it’s the right thing for me to be there for the whole of the England tour,” Knight told the PA news agency ahead of International Women’s Day.

“I’d always agreed to play the England games and wanted to, that was a given. I was trying to negotiate with the franchise around leaving a little bit early, but unfortunately that didn’t come to fruition.

“It was just unfortunately a little bit too tight with the flights and stuff and we couldn’t get the tour pushed back. As the game evolves, players have got more decisions to make as those options increase.

“It’s a sign of lots of opportunities in the women’s game but hopefully there’s a place for both franchise and international cricket to co-exist. It’s certainly interesting going forward.”

The quartet at the WPL – who will be available from the fourth T20 in a tour also including three ODIs – are earning lucrative sums at their franchises with Sciver-Brunt and Ecclestone on six-figure deals.

Knight sees the upshot for England as they can get a feel for Asian conditions before the autumn’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh but she warned that workloads must also be given consideration going forward.

“I actually think some of our players playing in the WPL would be a huge benefit for England in the future and hopefully we’ll see that benefit at the T20 World Cup,” Knight said.

“It’s great for players and there are so many more opportunities but players are now having to make tricky choices around what’s best for them and how to manage the calendar.

“It’s becoming pretty much impossible to play in all the big franchise competitions and every game of cricket for your country.

“We’ll certainly see players trying to manage their workload and try and peak at the right time for big tournaments like the T20 World Cup.”

Knight was speaking after another revolutionary past 12 months for women’s cricket, with the 2023 Ashes generating record attendances and viewing figures, while England’s male and female cricketers are now paid equal match fees.

The England and Wales Cricket Board is now attempting to implement a radical shake-up of the domestic women’s game, which will see a three-tier structure and change in ownership model introduced from 2025.

“It seems like every year is groundbreaking and lots of changes,” Knight added. “It’s the fast-paced nature of things and trying to accelerate that move towards equity with the men’s game.

“The steps have been really good and it’s another exciting place to be. Last year was another remarkable year but let’s hope for another remarkable and groundbreaking year this year.”

The hosts declared on 186 for six leaving England a target of 479 to chase down from the final two days of play, but it took India just one session to bowl them out for a first home victory in nine years.

Heather Knight top-scored for the visitors with 21 runs to her name as India swept up 10 wickets in just 27.3 overs.

And, as if to prove that the magic lies in the journey rather than the destination, it was by a distance the most gripping Ashes summer in a generation.

In the men’s series, two wonderfully matched teams scrapped tooth and claw as the ledger ended level at 2-2, England only denied a famous victory from two down by a 48-hour deluge in Manchester.

In the women’s multi-format match-up, finally afforded equal billing and staged concurrently at the peak of the season, things were just as tight. The decision to offer a five-day Test, rather than the four-day affairs that have so frequently forced draws, allowed a bold Australian victory in spite of Tammy Beaumont’s epic double century, tipping the scales heavily towards an away win.

Instead, Heather Knight’s team rallied to unseat the world’s most reliable white-ball winning machine in both the the T20 and ODI legs and tie the points score at 8-8.

In both instances the tourists retained the Ashes as holders, but in each case the rivalry was bolstered afresh. Pat Cummins’ Australia failed in their stated mission of winning behind enemy lines for the first time since 2001 – a permanent gap on the CVs of decorated veterans such as Steve Smith, David Warner and Mitchell Starc – while Alyssa Healy’s group saw the limited-overs dominance that forms their core identity challenged and eroded.

In a cricket landscape facing rapid, exponential change in the face of the franchise juggernaut, it was a timely reminder that the Ashes can still deliver in a vital, visceral way.

The memorable moments were vivid and plentiful. Zak Crawley kicked the whole circus off by crashing the first ball of the series through cover for four with a flourish that spoke a thousand words.

Lord’s brought a major flashpoint as Alex Carey ran out Jonny Bairstow in an act that was either elite opportunism or craven skullduggery, depending on your side of the divide.

In an unlikely twist, the famously genteel surroundings of the Long Room became the most expensively dressed bear pit in the sporting world and helped create a frisson that never quite went away. Ben Stokes’ defiantly doomed century on one good leg could not save that game but laid the ground for a profound shift in fortunes.

Chris Woakes and Mark Wood were late arrivals but star turns, Moeen Ali’s rollercoaster comeback ended on a grace note and Crawley hit a jaw-dropping 189 at Old Trafford before the prospect of a winner-takes-all decider fell foul of the rain.

It fell to Stuart Broad to provide a fitting final chapter, announcing his retirement midway through the match before penning his own perfect swansong at the Oval. He hit his final ball as a batter for six and walked into the sunset having taken the winning wicket with his last ever delivery.

Katharine Sciver-Brunt also bowed out after two decades as a standard-bearer in the women’s game. There was no fairytale finish here, a losing effort against South Africa in the T20 World Cup semi-final spelling the end of her Three Lions career, but the departure of the country’s record limited-overs wicket-taker leaves just as big a void.

That tournament was a disappointment for a team with their eyes on the top prize, but a roaring success compared to the efforts of England’s men in India. Looking to retain the 50-over crown they famously won at Lord’s in 2019, Jos Buttler and company produced a ripe contender for the most shambolic title defence ever seen in elite sport.

Near favourites at the start of the campaign, they lost six of their first seven games as they sleep-walked out of contention. Lacking identity, hopelessly out of form and shorn of intent they became the biggest scalp in Afghanistan’s history and were thrashed by a Sri Lanka side led by Chris Silverwood, the man they sacked 18 months earlier.

Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott lived to fight another day but barely had time to lick their wounds before being pressed back into action in the West Indies, where their latest one-day reset began in defeat.

In 2024 both teams will turn their attention to the 20-over format, with the men defending their 2022 title in the Caribbean and USA and Knight’s women eyeing an overdue T20 success of their own having previously triumphed in the inaugural edition 15 years ago.

The tourists needed just 29 from 29 balls with eight wickets in hand, seemingly cruising in their pursuit of 156, when Maia Bouchier’s dismissal triggered the loss of six wickets for 25 runs.

Knight’s side needed eight runs from the final over but Suzie Bates only conceded four as the White Ferns cut England’s lead to 2-1 in the five-match series.

“A lot of good stuff and a quite frustrating end,” Knight told TNT Sports.

“We needed to be a bit more smart and show composure at the back end.

“Maia batted outstandingly. She came out with the intent we wanted and showed her class.

“A frustrating one not to finish off but remembering we are an inexperienced group and are missing a few players. Those girls will learn a hell of a lot.”

Bouchier made 71 from just 47 balls, sharing a second-wicket stand of 93 with Tammy Beaumont to put England in control, but when the two departed to leave England 127 for three the wheels came off.

Knight, Amy Jones and Bess Heath all fell quickly, with Hollie Armitage and Charlie Dean also departing in the final over as New Zealand claimed a three-run victory.

Earlier, skipper Sophie Devine made 60 and shared a 99-run partnership with Amelia Kerr (44no) as New Zealand posted 155 for three from their 20 overs.

Armitage made her England debut as a concussion substitute after Sarah Glenn hit her head in the field and had to be replaced.

England hope to have Danni Wyatt, Alice Capsey, Sophie Ecclestone and Nat Sciver-Brunt back and available for Wednesday’s fourth match in Wellington after their participation in the Women’s Premier League.

England lost by eight wickets after they were skittled for 104 with Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu smacking 55 in quick time to secure victory for the tourists’ with 40 balls to spare.

It levels the three-match T20 series ahead of Wednesday’s decider in Derby and resulted in Knight facing questions over the decision with head coach Jon Lewis to experiment against the eighth best country in Twenty20 cricket.

Sophia Dunkley and Nat Sciver-Brunt were rested while England selected five players aged 22 or younger in Saturday’s XI, but captain Knight defended their right to rotate with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh only a year away.

Knight said: “We want to expose people to international cricket and we were pretty clear that was the goal at the start of this series.

“No one was saying anything at Hove when we smashed 180 off 17 overs so no, I wouldn’t change a thing.

“In a busy summer, we knew there was a slight opportunity to try a few new players. You don’t get a huge amount of opportunities to do that because we haven’t got too many games before that World Cup in Bangladesh.

“It wasn’t about underestimating Sri Lanka at all. It was about what is best for us as a side moving forward and we needed to get some caps into young players to see where they are at.

“We’ve had a bad day, we’ve lost a game of cricket but there will be no big enquiry into it.

“Sri Lanka have played very well and they have given us some humble pie to be honest, but it is a good lesson for youngsters that if you are not quite on it and not able to execute your skills how you want, then you can get punished.”

After posting 186 for four in Sussex on Thursday, this batting display could not have been more chalk and cheese with England reduced to 21 for three inside the powerplay.

Knight and Amy Jones briefly rebuilt before the excellent Inoka Ranaweera accounted for them on her way to figures of two for 25.

When England were faltering on 66 for eight, an unwanted record looked on the cards but Charlie Dean hit 34 to help the hosts beyond their previous lowest T20 total of 87 – posted against Australia in 2015.

Sri Lanka seamer Udeshika Prabodhani ended Dean’s 33-run partnership with Issy Wong and yorked Dean soon after to dismiss England for 104.

Wong would go on to struggle with the ball, producing an array of no-balls in a 10-delivery opening over.

Athapaththu never blinked in the chase though, smashing Kate Cross for 21 before she added another maximum in a scintillating 26-ball fifty that helped the tourists clinch a first T20 win over England at the 10th time of asking.

“We all had a bad day at the same time unfortunately,” Knight reflected.

“I thought they bowled really well, their spinners were impressive and the lengths they bowled. Credit to them but yeah sometimes this happens in cricket.

“We’ve obviously got a very inexperienced side and a lot of people who are learning their trade, so it identifies areas where we need to get better at.

“Even before this game we identified spin as an area where we can keep getting better and with the World Cup in Bangladesh that will be something potentially on the radar out there.

“Look, quite a humbling day but it is now an opportunity for us to hone in on what we can do better moving forward.”

Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu added: “Today was really good for us, we executed the right plans and especially the spinners were really good.

“The wicket was helpful, so finally we won, that’s really good for us. For myself and my team, this is a huge moment for women’s cricket in Sri Lanka.”

The move away from the current regional setup to a fully professionalised top flight from 2025, aligning with first-class counties in the process, is a major step forward for women’s cricket but not everyone has made the initial cut.

Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey and Warwickshire were all successful, but eight other proposals were not. Yorkshire have been approved alongside Glamorgan to be elevated in 2027 and a further expansion to 12 teams is planned.

Yet that delay represents the latest setback for a proud cricketing county after several years mired by the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal and financial pressures which saw them reappoint the divisive Colin Graves as chair earlier this year.

However, ECB chief executive Richard Gould made it clear there was no sense of re-litigating those issues in a process that was focused entirely on elevating women’s cricket to fresh heights.

“It’s certainly not (about) being punished for past sins, that’s not our role. Our role is to promote the game, not punish,” he said at the launch of a new national tape ball competition, aimed at further broadening the sport’s appeal.

“It will be disappointing for those venues that either haven’t been selected for tier one at this point or who have been, but perhaps not quite as quickly as they expected.

“There will be individual circumstances but I don’t think anybody should see this as anything other than a positive for the women’s game – we’ve had 16 counties bidding so strongly to host professional women’s cricket.

“We were so relieved by the amount of focus, attention and frankly, love, that was being put into the women’s game in those bids.”

Knight, meanwhile, sees the intensity of the bidding process – and the level of frustration at those who were not approved – as a positive sign given a a relative lack of enthusiasm for female teams earlier in her career.

“It sounds like there’s some counties disappointed which is a shame but also pretty cool,” she said.

“When I was playing a long time ago, a lot of counties weren’t interested. So that disappointment is a sign of the progress that has been made.

“The regional structure has been super successful in professionalising the game and this is the next logical step.

“It has been a problem with regions, mine (Western Storm) has three different counties, and sometimes you feel you don’t have a home or a bit all over the place with facilities, not getting the same equal access as the guys do. Hopefully that will change with this coming in and counties will be accountable. That’s the whole idea: one club, two teams.”

Yorkshire, who have hosted the Northern Diamonds and can now expect their top players to head elsewhere in search of the best – and best-paid – cricket opportunities, had earlier tabled their own statement.

“Yorkshire County Cricket Club are surprised and disappointed not to be awarded one of the initial Tier 1 women’s teams,” it read.

“The news is especially frustrating and upsetting for the players and staff at the Northern Diamonds. Our focus is on supporting them through this difficult period and gaining as much clarity on what the future looks like.”

Simon Phillip, speaking as chair of a Kent side who have hosted the South East Stars in recent seasons, was similarly aggrieved.

“As the most successful county team in the history of Women’s Cricket, offering the only dedicated women’s performance centre at Beckenham and based in a highly diverse south-east London population of 1.2 million people, the decision is difficult to swallow,” he said.

“Whilst this decision will take some getting over, we remain committed to women’s and girls’ cricket and are determined to not let it hamper our long-term ambitions.”

Leicestershire were also vocal about their feelings on missing the boat, claiming “a missed opportunity by the ECB” and saying the club was “crestfallen” not be included.

Nat Sciver-Brunt hit an unbeaten 111 in Hampshire but it was not enough to guide England to victory in pursuit of 283 with the hosts finishing on 279 for seven after a thrilling sixth encounter of the multi-format series.

After trailing 6-0 following defeats in the one-off Test and opening T20, England had stormed back to win three matches in a row and keep alive their faint chances of winning back the Ashes for the first time since 2014.

Only victory in the final two ODIs would be enough for Knight’s team, but the tourists proved too strong with Ellyse Perry’s 91 and a game-changing knock of 37 not out from Georgia Wareham, with 26 runs coming off the final over bowled by Lauren Bell, helping Australia make 282 for seven.

Sciver-Brunt was able to produce more heroics against Australia, after she hit 148 not out in last year’s World Cup final, but with 15 runs needed from the last six deliveries, Jess Jonassen held her nerve and England will aim to level the series at 8-8 in Tuesday’s final ODI in Taunton.

“God it was an unbelievable game again wasn’t it? It has got to be the best series there has ever been in the history of the women’s game,” Knight reflected.

“Two sides going toe-to-toe, fighting it out and every game has been pretty close. Yeah, obviously disappointment but real pride as well over the fact we got so close.

“The way Nat played was unbelievable. To nearly marshal the tail in that chase was brilliant, but probably left a little bit too much to do.

“Overall, we’ve put in another thriller of a performance, but the Ashes are gone which is disappointing.”

Before Sciver-Brunt’s third ODI century against Australia, the big momentum-swinger occurred in the final over of the tourists’ innings.

With Australia on a below-par 256 for seven after 49 overs, England would have fancied their chances but Wareham proceeded to hit seamer Bell for three maximums, two over midwicket, and another brace of fours.

The 26-run over went a long way to deciding the latest nail-bitter in the series, but Knight backed her young bowler to learn from the experience.

“No, not for me (the most decisive moment). Lauren has been outstanding at the death for us all series, but she is a young bowler, she will make mistakes and have days like that sometimes where it doesn’t quite go right,” Knight added.

“I think she will learn a lot from that experience.

“There is a one-day series victory on the line and it would be a really good achievement to win the T20 series and ODI series to draw the series 8-8.

“We have to rally around people, it is obviously quite a quick turnaround and there will be some emotion in that dressing room.

“But we head to Taunton tonight, down to the Holiday Inn and we have a day to regroup and go again. I think if we can end the series on a high, we can have huge pride in how we’ve played throughout the series.”

Knight had got England over the line in Wednesday’s opening ODI match in Bristol and admitted it was “horrific” to have no control in this chase.

Reflecting on Sciver-Brunt’s innings, Knight added: “It was kind of written in the stars for her to do it today.

“Unfortunately just a little bit too much but great character by her to get us even anywhere close.

“It was another unbelievably entertaining game of cricket and unfortunately we’ve been on the wrong side of this one.”

Australia spinner Alana King, who claimed three for 44, was delighted to retain the Ashes but insisted they want to win the series 10-6.

She said: “We have retained it, which is awesome but as we have said all along, we have come to win it so we have one more game to win the Ashes.”

England will try to wrestle the urn from all-conquering Australia’s grasp in the multi-format series, beginning with a lone Test at Trent Bridge where around 15,000 tickets have been sold across five days.

On the eve of the curtain-raiser, Knight senses an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the England football team, who sent the nation into raptures with their triumphant Euro 2022 campaign.

Doing so will be no mean feat as Australia have not lost to England since 2014, hold both limited-overs World Cups and won gold at last year’s Commonwealth Games, but Knight is in an optimistic mood.

She said: “One of our mantras is to entertain and inspire. In the women’s game, we take it quite personally that we want to promote the game in the right way, get people behind us and inspire them.

“It’s super special and it’s set up to be a really amazing Ashes series that’s probably going to be the most visible series outside of World Cups that we’ve ever had. We’re keen to try and maximise that.

“Women’s sport is just in such an amazing place in the country in the moment and we want to be a part of that. What the Lionesses did last summer, we loved watching it and want to be a part of that.

“We know we’re up against a very good Australian team but we’ve got the opportunity to do something special and part of that is bringing the country with us on that journey.”

Wong was recalled by England skipper Heather Knight for Saturday’s second T20 in the three-match series with Sri Lanka at Chelmsford and while she contributed towards a 33-run partnership with Charlie Dean, she experienced difficulties with the ball.

Three no-balls were sent down during Wong’s first over and she finished with figures of nought for 24 off two overs with Sri Lanka chasing down a target of 105 with 40 deliveries to spare.

Knight, after facing several questions post-match about the selection of the 21-year-old, said: “Matt Mason is working pretty closely with Issy around getting her back to where we know she can be.

“We wanted to get a bit of context around where she is at and Issy wanted some context around where she is at in terms of us playing her.

“She had a couple of really good training sessions and felt in a really good place but she is learning. She has obviously struggled for rhythm this summer and my role is to keep backing her.

“We know what sort of cricketer she can be, which is why we have backed her when she has been struggling.

“Yeah, a tough day and sometimes when you are exposed to it in that pressure situation it can make it tough, but she is a pretty resilient character. She is a positive person so I don’t think it will affect her too much.”

Wong has been conspicuous by her absence all summer throughout an enthralling Women’s Ashes where she sat out all seven matches of the multi-format series.

She initially burst onto the international scene last summer following an exciting 12 months where she caught the eye in the 2021 edition of The Hundred before starring in the Women’s Big Bash later that year.

It led to key roles in England’s unsuccessful pursuit of gold at the home Commonwealth Games along with appearances in all formats for her country during 2022, but despite taking a hat-trick in the inaugural Women’s Premier League in India, she has largely carried the drinks in recent months.

Wong was even used sparingly by Birmingham Phoenix during The Hundred in August and her showing at Chelmsford highlighted her struggles after she overstepped three times during a 10-ball first over while a surprise return into the attack later resulted in a second over littered with poor deliveries.

Knight, who hinted at Wong receiving unhelpful advice on the domestic scene, revealed England’s plan of action for the fast bowler following Saturday’s humbling defeat in Essex.

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“She has been given five balls at a time in The Hundred and hasn’t had a chance to come back from spells. I guess that’s probably put a lot of pressure on her starting and how she starts,” Knight pointed out.

“As a captain, I am always someone that wants to back players and bring them in. We played her to get some context over where she is at and I wanted to bowl her again.

“I think she has been struggling a little bit for rhythm all summer and then she’s been trying a few things, listening to a lot of different voices, which has probably led to her run-up issues because she didn’t really have those earlier in the summer.

“Issy does have a clear plan over the next month about what she will do with Matt Mason, who is an outstanding bowling coach. They will work very closely to try get Issy to a place where she needs to be.”

Knight succeeded Charlotte Edwards, who had a decade-long stint in the position, in June 2016 and her tenure has coincided with some ground-breaking moments for women’s cricket, both domestically and worldwide.

England head coach Jon Lewis recently praised Knight’s longevity and commitment as “second to none” after she withdrew from the Women’s Premier League to play a full part in the tour of New Zealand.

While great rival Meg Lanning stepped down as Australia captain and retired from international cricket late last year, Knight insisted she still gets a kick out of leading England and has much more to give.

“It’s a lot of fun and I’m still enjoying doing it,” the 33-year-old told the PA news agency.

“As long as I’m moving things and myself forward and still enjoying it, it’s something I want to continue to do.

“When I think it’s eight years, it seems like a hell of a long time but it’s gone very fast, that’s for sure, and I still feel like I’ve got a lot to offer the team to keep moving things forward.

“I enjoy that responsibility of trying to change. I’ve had to adapt my leadership as the years have gone and I quite enjoy doing that.

“There’s always a big tournament around the corner these days, there’s one every year so there’s always something to work towards and try and have a chance of being successful in.”

Knight oversaw England’s seminal World Cup triumph in 2017, when they beat India in the Lord’s final, but global trophies have since been out of their reach, hoovered up by the better-resourced Australia juggernaut.

England won both white-ball series against their fierce rivals in the multi-format Ashes last year but Knight reckons Australia are still the side to beat ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.

“Teams are starting to challenge them which is a really healthy place to be,” Knight said.

“But Australia are still a very good team and ultimately they’re still the target everyone is looking to knock down.”

England take on New Zealand in Dunedin in the first of five T20s in the early hours of Tuesday morning as they begin building towards the next global event, scheduled to be held in September and October.

They will be without Nat Sciver-Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Alice Capsey and Danni Wyatt for the first three T20s – a prearranged agreement which allowed the quartet to focus on their WPL commitments.

But that allows those on the fringes a chance to make their mark, with Tammy Beaumont set for her 100th T20 appearance, more than two years after her 99th cap. The 33-year-old was jettisoned ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games but she has elbowed her way back in following some sparkling knocks in 2023.

“The door’s not shut to anyone,” Knight added. “There is that opportunity for players coming in and it will be really interesting to see how they do.

“Tammy’s not been around the T20 stuff for a long time, she’s gone away and worked on her game a lot and done things a little bit differently. She massively deserves that opportunity to come back in and open the batting in T20 cricket.

“Everyone knows Tammy is a gritty cricketer, a bit of a fighter and loves a challenge so I’m super excited how she does with this opportunity she’s got.”

The England skipper led an emphatic response to defeat against South Africa, blasting 108 from 66 balls to become the fourth batter to make a hundred at the event and send records tumbling.

England’s total of 176 for two was their highest T20I total and Knight’s unbeaten third-wicket stand of 169 with Nat Sciver was the highest partnership for any wicket in Women’s T20 World Cup history.

Thailand managed 78 for seven from their 20 overs, with England’s victory by 98 runs the largest winning margin at the tournament.

All this was scarcely conceivable after a remarkable start to the game with the 2009 winners were reduced to seven for two, both England openers dismissed for ducks for just the second time in T20Is.

Nattaya Boochatham, leading T20I wicket-taker in the world in 2019, sparked wild celebrations as her arm ball beat a charging Amy Jones and she was stumped second ball.

Opening partner Danni Wyatt then perished for a golden duck, slicing Soraya Lateh to cover point where Wongpaka Liengprasert dived forward to take an excellent catch.

Just as in their defeat to the Proteas in Perth, Sciver combined security with expansive stroke play to grasp the impetus, scoring her third half-century in four innings.

Knight showed similar restraint and punished medium-pacer Chanida Sutthiruang when she strayed leg side, twice hooking to the boundary as the pair raced to a 50 stand from 34 balls.

Knight swept Ratanaporn Padunglerd over backward square for six to reach her half-century from 34 balls, another expertly-judged sweep notching up the 100 stand in the 15th over.

The England captain moved past 90, lifting Liengprasert over long-on in an over that cost 17, and became the fourth England player to reach three figures with a cut for two in the final over.

Knight has a remarkable record at Manuka Oval, with all four of her T20I 50+ scores coming in Australia’s capital, the most of any woman at a single venue in the format.

Her side posted an imposing 176 for two and it took just four balls of the Thai reply to strike, Anya Shrubsole jagging one back through Boochatham’s defences and trapping her lbw for 0.

Natthakan Chantam impressed with her power through the off-side, driving Katherine Brunt handsomely to the cover boundary and then cutting Sciver to the fence inside the Powerplay.

With the fielding restrictions relaxed, the flow of runs ground to a virtual halt with 12 runs coming from five overs from spinners Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn and Knight.

Ecclestone’s metronomic accuracy was rewarded with the second wicket as her quicker one foxed Chantam and pinned her in front for 32 from 53 balls.

Wickets tumbled with Sciver pouching two in an over as Nannapat Khoncharoenkai was bowled slashing across the line and Sutthiruang found mid-on.

Shrubsole returned to remove Thailand skipper Sornarrin Tippoch, stumped off a wide for one, before Liengprasert was run out by the seamer to make it 62 for six.

England's resounding victory was capped when Shrubsole forced Onnicha Kamchomphu to chip to mid-off from the penultimate delivery.

Scores in brief

England beat Thailand by 98 runs, Manuka Oval, Canberra

England 176-2, 20 overs (Heather Knight 108 not out, Nat Sciver 59 not out; Nattaya Boochatham 1-18)

Thailand 78-7, 20 overs (Natthakan Chantham 32; Anya Shrubsole 3-21, Nat Sciver 2-5)

Bouchier’s 91 off 56 balls, her second successive half-century, helped England to 177 for three, Charlie Dean taking four wickets as New Zealand were restricted to 130 for seven.

England lost Danni Wyatt, back in the side after playing in the Women’s IPL, early but Alice Capsey and Bouchier – hampered by a quad injury – added 75 in 10 overs.

Captain Heather Knight (21 not out) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (29 not out) smashed 35 off the final 14 balls to set the hosts a daunting target.

That target was made more daunting without captain Suzie Bates, injured in the field, and England struck at regular intervals.

Dean grabbed four for 26, and Brooke Holliday was at the top scoring, with 25 for the hosts.

The win gives England an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series, which concludes in Wellington on Friday.

All-rounder Sciver picked up from where she left off to score her third half-century of the tournament, helping England to post 143 for five on a tricky track.

West Indies’ response never got going with Lee-Ann Kirby top-scoring with 20 at the Sydney Showground.

That was largely thanks to the spin trio of Sophie Ecclestone (three for seven), Sarah Glenn (two for 16) and Mady Villiers (one for 30), helping dismiss West Indies for 97 to win by 46 runs.

England started afresh with Tammy Beaumont joining Danni Wyatt atop the order but the move didn’t work out, the new opener trapped lbw by Shakera Selman in the first over.

Wyatt then fell to a superb catch in the deep from Hayley Matthews off Anisa Mohammed but in Sciver and captain Heather Knight, England had the best duo for the rebuild job.

With more than 70 per cent of their team’s runs in the tournament, the importance of Knight and Sciver is not lost with the latter reaching her third half-century in four games in this Women’s T20 World Cup.

By then Knight (17) was run out brilliantly by Selman and Fran Wilson had holed out to Britney Cooper at deep midwicket off Afy Fletcher, with England 102 for four with four overs remaining.

Amy Jones, in a new role at No.6, found back-to-back off-side boundaries off Stafanie Taylor but had to watch Sciver finally depart for 57 in the same over to take her tournament tally to 202 runs in four matches.

Just six balls remained as Brunt joined Jones in the middle, the bowler striking boundaries from the last two balls of the innings to take England to 143 for five.

West Indies also tinkered with their top order as Deandra Dottin opened up, but her innings ended on just nine with Ecclestone having her snaffled by short midwicket.

Taylor struck two boundaries off Brunt to end the Powerplay but that was to be her last significant contribution, stretchered off in the eighth over and retiring hurt from the innings.

From there England seized the impetus as star leg-spinner Glenn got into her work, bowling Hayley Matthews with her eighth ball to leave West Indies two down in the ninth over.

It was to get even better for the spin unit, off-spinner Villiers marking her first Women’s T20 World Cup over with a wicket maiden after taking a smart return catch off Shemaine Campbelle.

At 42 for three come halfway, West Indies had work to do with 102 still required and their task was tougher still when Chedean Nation edged Glenn to wicket-keeper Jones without scoring.

Lee-Ann Kirby (20) did her best to inject some momentum with towering sixes off Glenn and Villiers but Anya Shrubsole ended her exploits when the big-hitter was held by Sciver at long-on.

England boast the best economy rate for spinners in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 and with each of Ecclestone, Glenn and Villiers bowling a maiden, they weren’t letting up.

Ecclestone, who has now taken wickets in her last 18 T20I matches, had Britney Cooper stumped while Villiers completed back-to-back run-outs of Afy Fletcher and Aaliyah Alleyne.

Ecclestone then had the last say, taking her 100th international wicket by bowling Anisa Mohammed to send England into the last four.

Scores in brief

England beat West Indies by 46 runs, Sydney Showground

England 143-5, 20 overs (Nat Sciver 57, Danni Wyatt 29; Anisa Mohammed 1-23)

West Indies 97 all out, 17.1 overs (Lee-Ann Kirby 20; Sophie Ecclestone 3-7, Sarah Glenn 2-16)

The West Indies Women started with a seven-wicket win over Thailand before being blitzed by Pakistan and then England. Their final game against South Africa was abandoned on account of persistent showers.

But in those losses there were no individual performances of note, leaving the ICC selectors with the easy choice of leaving them out.

The selectors did have a tough time though, with five players from Australia’s victorious squad being named to the Team of the Tournament.

Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney did damage aplenty with the bat and the two reprise their roles as openers in the final XI.

They’re joined by fast bowler Megan Schutt, who took four wickets in the Final against India to finish as leading wicket-taker with 13, and left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen.

There is also a spot for captain Meg Lanning, who led Australia from the front both with the bat and in the field to guide her country to a fifth Women’s T20 World Cup title.

The side was pulled together by a selection panel featuring commentators and former international players Ian Bishop, Anjum Chopra and Lisa Sthalekar, journalist Raf Nicholson and ICC representative Holly Colvin.

 The team of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 (in batting order) is:

1.     Alyssa Healy (wk) (Australia) – 236 runs at 39.33, seven dismissals
2.     Beth Mooney (Australia) – 259 runs at 64.75
3.     Nat Sciver (England) – 202 runs at 67.33
4.     Heather Knight (England) – 193 runs at 64.33
5.     Meg Lanning (c) (Australia) – 132 runs at 44
6.     Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa) – 94 runs at strike rate of 149
7.     Jess Jonassen (Australia) – 10 wickets at 14.00
8.     Sophie Ecclestone (England) – eight wickets at 6.12
9.     Anya Shrubsole (England) – eight wickets at 10.62
10.     Megan Schutt (Australia) – 13 wickets at 10.30
11.     Poonam Yadav (India) – 10 wickets at 11.9
12.     Shafali Verma (India) – 163 runs at strike rate of 158.25

Healy and Mooney broke their own record set in 2018 with the most runs as a partnership in a Women’s T20 World Cup, with 352 at an average close to 60.

They also made their second century partnership in four innings while Healy lit up Melbourne to record the quickest 50 in a Final and the highest score in the showcase.

The latter was beaten by her partner a few overs later, with Mooney’s unbeaten 78 seeing her reach 259 runs - the most for one player at any edition of the tournament.

The Australian pair are followed in the team by another stellar duo, with nobody bettering the 169-run partnership made by Nat Sciver and Heather Knight against Thailand.

The middle-order batters were in inspired form throughout, Knight becoming the first England cricketer to register centuries in all three formats with her ton against the debutants.

Sciver’s consistency was remorseless in Australia, scoring half-centuries in three of England’s four completed matches to end her tournament with 202 runs and two wickets.

Ensconcing herself in the middle order is Lanning, who steered her country to a historic fifth Women’s T20 World Cup title and the first on home soil.

Her 49 in the semi-final against South Africa will be remembered as one of the most vital innings of the competition, while her tournament-defining captaincy sees her named skipper for this team.

Laura Wolvaardt only batted in two innings but certainly made her mark on the action.

The 20-year-old struck 53 not out to take South Africa beyond Pakistan, with a glorious array of straight and cover drives lighting up the Sydney Showground.

And she almost went one better in the semi-final against Australia, another eye-catching knock of 41 not out seeing her team finish just short of the Final.

As for the bowlers, few could match the feats of left-arm spinner Jonassen, who finished with ten scalps in her six matches.

The Australian took at least one wicket in each, with no better haul than the three for 20 against India in the Final which clinched a fifth title.

She’s joined in the XI by two record-breaking England bowlers in spinner Sophie Ecclestone and pacer Anya Shrubsole.

No bowler has taken more than Shrubsole’s 41 Women’s T20 World Cup wickets, with eight coming in her four matches Down Under.

For Ecclestone, meanwhile, the sky is the limit for a 20-year-old who has taken a wicket in her last 18 T20I matches.

A tournament tally of eight for 49 combines both wicket-taking ability and a stunning economy rate for Ecclestone, who now sits top of the MRF Tyres ICC T20I Bowling Rankings.

Coming in at ten is Schutt, with no player bettering the 13 wickets she took at a single tournament.

That all came to the perfect conclusion at the MCG for Schutt, finishing with four for 18 against an India line-up she had feared to win the Final for Australia.

Rounding off the XI is leg-spinner Poonam Yadav, who had Australia in knots in a dramatic opening game of the tournament.

India’s leading T20I wicket-taker took four for 19 in the opener and didn’t look back, bagging three against Bangladesh before rounding off with wickets in each match.

Taking her place as 12th is teenage sensation Shafali Verma – who broke record after record at the top of India’s order.

Fearless cricket had the opposition running scared of the 16-year-old, with her devastating 163 runs coming at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 158.25.

Deputising for an under-the-weather Heather Knight, Sciver-Brunt gave a masterclass in controlled aggression as she flayed a 66-ball hundred – the fastest in women’s ODIs by an England batter.

After eclipsing the previous best off 70 balls by Charlotte Edwards against New Zealand in March 2012, Sciver-Brunt made 120 from 74 deliveries before England prevailed by 161 runs for a 2-0 series win.

Her record would only have stood for a couple of minutes if Maia Bouchier had hit her 65th ball for six but she was lbw for 95, ending a boundary-laden 193-run stand in 121 deliveries with Sciver-Brunt.

Their efforts underpinned England’s mammoth 273 for eight in a contest reduced to 31 overs each because of a rain-delayed start at Grace Road, with Charlie Dean’s five for 31 hastening Sri Lanka’s demise to 112 all out in a doomed pursuit.

Bouchier and Sciver-Brunt came together after England had lurched to 18 for two, with Tammy Beaumont edging a wild heave to slip before a flat-footed Alice Capsey saw her stumps disturbed by a Udeshika Prabodhani inswinger.

With Sri Lanka’s coterie of spinners still to bowl, England might have feared the worst in their final outing of their summer programme.

They laboured when batting first against Sri Lanka’s slower options in a shock defeat in the preceding T20 series, but Sciver-Brunt was rested for those matches and she exhibited why she is regarded as one of the best batters against spin in the women’s game.

After taking two singles from her first seven deliveries, Sciver-Brunt settled into her stride with one of several back-foot punches through cover off Inoka Ranaweera before larruping through midwicket to bring up England’s 50 and then shimmying down to the slow left-armer and elegantly driving for six.

Opposite number Chamari Athapaththu rotated her options but the spinners offered very little threat and no containment, with all of them going at more than 10 an over when Bouchier and Sciver-Brunt batted.

Sciver-Brunt drove, pulled and swept expertly, scooping once, going proficiently through the gears as she brought up her third ton in four ODI innings, reaching the milestone in understated fashion as she nudged seamer Achini Kulasuriya off her pads for a single.

Bouchier offered ample support. This was just her second ODI innings but she matched Sciver-Brunt blow for blow, registering a dozen fours and two sixes, having benefited from Emma Lamb’s continued absence with a back spasm.

Her timing was excellent as she effortlessly whipped left-armer Prabodhani and fellow seamer Hansima Karunaratne over the leg-side fence, while she was also fluent driving down the ground and pulling across the line.

https://x.com/englandcricket/status/1702357098393145776?s=20

After three successive fours off Oshadi Ranasinghe, Bouchier might have been stumped on 55 when she overbalanced against the off-spinner but wicketkeeper Anushka Sanjeewani fumbled the take.

Bouchier was eventually out five short of a maiden hundred after playing all around one from Kavisha Dilhari, but the opener’s innings went some way to justifying England giving their fringe players a chance in this series.

Sciver-Brunt had not offered so much of a sniff in compiling the sixth fastest ODI century in the women’s game but her stay, containing 18 fours and a six, ended when she holed out to long-off off Ranaweera.

Her departure marked the start of England losing five wickets in their last 32 balls although debutant Bess Heath’s cameo 21 off 14 deliveries helped them add 50 to a monumental total that would have stretched Sri Lanka in a regulation 50-over game.

Having amassed 106 for nine in Tuesday’s abandonment at Northampton and been skittled for an identical total in a seven-wicket defeat at Chester-le-Street on Saturday, Sri Lanka simply never got going.

Lauren Filer continued her excellent summer by uprooting Sanjeewani’s middle stump and castling Imesha Dulani. Teenage left-arm seamer Mahika Gaur, recalled after being rested at Wantage Road, located the outside edge of Harshitha Samarawickrama before Charlie Dean ran amok.

Unperturbed at being thrashed for two fours in her first over, Dean invited another swipe from Athapaththu, who missed a slog sweep and fell lbw to the off-spinner for the second match in a row.

The Sri Lanka captain was the big wicket and any faint hope disappeared with her although Dean still rubberstamped the win by snaring Karunaratne, Hasini Perera and Dilhari in the same over.

A maiden five-for in England colours was assured when Prabodhani dragged on and Sri Lanka quickly subsided in 24.5 overs.

The world number one white-ball bowler needed surgery after dislocating her shoulder in August while taking part in the Hundred, missing the home series against Sri Lanka and the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia.

But she stepped up her recovery during England’s recent training camp in Oman and is ready to return to action at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

“Sophie has missed a bit of cricket with the injury she had but she’s going to be fit and firing, so I’m looking forward to seeing her bowl,” Knight said.

“I don’t think bowling will be an issue, she’s been doing really well, but fielding there might be a bit of nervousness. I’ve had injuries myself where it’s about getting over trusting your body.

“I’m sure in the heat of battle Sophie will be fine, she’s tracking really well in training, diving around and things like that, but we’ll keep a close eye on her because she’s obviously a key player for us.”

England have not toured India since 2019 but Knight was among a handful of players who played in the country’s inaugural Women’s Premier League and believes it is the perfect place for her side to develop.

“It feels a long time since we’ve been to India, but now the WPL is a staple in the calendar there’s going to be a lot of cricket here for English players,” she said.

“I always feel I learn a lot about my game playing in Indian conditions. It really tests you as a cricketer in terms of skill level, how you deal with the noise, the heat and the other things that tend to happen in Indian tours.

“It’s a really good place to accelerate development and I’m excited to see how we cope with it.

“I’m really excited to see what sort of crowd we get too. Hopefully we get a few in after the WPL earlier in the year and we can silence the crowd, if there is one.”

England have one doubt for the series opener, with Charlie Dean set to sit out due to illness.

On her 100th ODI, Sciver-Brunt led England in the absence of ill Heather Knight and thrashed a 66-ball hundred, beating the record held by Charlotte Edwards off 70 deliveries against New Zealand in 2012.

Her record might have lasted only a few minutes but Maia Bouchier, unbeaten on 95 off 64 balls at the time Sciver-Brunt reached three figures, fell lbw when a six would have seen her set a new benchmark.

The pair put on a boundary-laden 193 in 121 balls to lift England to a mammoth 273 for eight in a contest reduced to 31 overs per side because of a rain delay that pushed back the start time more than three hours.

In the final match of their summer programme, England, leading 1-0, slipped to 18 for two in the fifth over but it was one-way traffic from then on as Bouchier and Sciver-Brunt starred.

Sri Lanka’s coterie of spinners came in for sustained punishment as Sciver-Brunt, who eventually holed out for 120 off 74 balls, and Bouchier, in just her second ODI innings, routinely took them on.

England got off to a false start as Tammy Beaumont, having been put down at midwicket in the previous over, edged a wild heave to slip while a flat-footed Alice Capsey was undone when left-arm seamer Udeshika Prabodhani nipped through her defences.

However, Bouchier, who had already expertly timed Prabodhani over the leg-side fence, then unfurled two glorious drives for four to ignite England’s charge, with the end of the six-over powerplay and introduction of the spinners working to their advantage.

Sciver-Brunt’s ability to stay back in her crease but pierce the off-field gaps was frequently exploited while she brought up England’s 50 with a whip off Inoka Ranaweera for four before shimmying down to the slow armer and elegantly driving for six.

Chamari Athapaththu frequently rotated her slow bowlers but they erred in line and length too often with no one able to stymie either Sciver-Brunt or Bouchier, who bludgeoned a free hit off seamer Hansima Karunaratne’s only over for six.

England’s 100 was brought up in the 13th over but, after thumping Oshadi Ranasinghe for three successive fours, Bouchier overbalanced and should have been stumped on 55 but Anushka Sanjeewani was unable to gather cleanly.

Sciver-Brunt missed a pull on 96 off a delivery that skidded on and kept low from Prabodhani as Athapaththu belatedly brought back her quicker bowlers, but the deputy England skipper went to her 100 in the next over, nudging Kulasuriya off her pads for a single.

Bouchier missed a hoick across the line and was given lbw, wisely electing against a review, but later in the over, Sciver-Brunt took three consecutive fours off Dilhari.

Sciver-Brunt slammed Ranaweera to long-off with 5.1 overs still left, with England losing five wickets for 40 at the end of their innings, although they were still able to get to a formidable total.