Sophie Ecclestone

A left-arm spinner renowned for her accuracy and economy, Sophie Ecclestone became the ICC's No. 1-ranked T20I bowler aged just 20, on the back of three years of impressive performances. Having played for Cheshire since 2013, she signed for Lancashire in 2015 and made her top-level debut as a 16-year-old in the County Championship.

After impressing for the England Academy in the tri-series with Sri Lanka A and Australia's Shooting Stars, she earned a call-up for England to face Pakistan in the T20I series in July 2016 and made her international debut aged just 17 in the first game of the series, finishing with 1 for 21 from four overs.

She was overlooked at international level over the next 18 months but secured her place during the 2017-18 Ashes in Australia, where she made her Test debut. In 2018, she proved particularly hard to hit in the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean, conceding just 5.38 runs per over as England reached the final. In ODIs, she rarely conceded more than four runs per over.

The following year, Ecclestone cemented her status as England's first-choice spinner during series against West Indies and Australia after impressing in the T20 Challenge in India, and securing a central contract. She then starred at the T20 World Cup in Australia, taking eight wickets in four matches and conceding a miserly 3.23 runs per over.

She was the leading wicket-taker in the 50-over World Cup of 2022 with 21 at an economy rate of 3.83 as England finished runners-up. In the Ashes Test the following year, she took ten wickets for the match, won by Australia.

Ecclestone became England's leading wicket-taker in women's T20Is during the home series against Pakistan in 2024 and took her second career four-wicket haul in the format against New Zealand later in the season, but her side's failed T20 World Cup campaign and winless Ashes tour of Australia took a toll.

An off-field spat with former team-mate-turned-commentator Alex Hartley was followed by a brief wellbeing break during West Indies' tour of England in 2025, and Ecclestone relinquished the World No. 1 bowlers' ranking in T20Is to Pakistan's Sadia Iqbal. But she bounced back against India in England's final official matches before the World Cup, taking 3 for 27 as Player of the Match in the second ODI at Lord's.