Sophia Dunkley

An enterprising batter and legspinner, Sophia Dunkley made her England debut at the 2018 T20 World Cup in the West Indies. Nestled in the middle order, her opportunities were limited. But amid something of a collapse, she impressed with her cool head and innovation during a record seventh-wicket stand in the defeat to West Indies in St Lucia.

In 2020, she became one of England's first 24 professional women's domestic cricketers when she signed for the newly formed South East Stars in the ECB's women's elite domestic structure. Dunkley became the first Black woman to play a Test for England, scoring an unbeaten 74 at No. 6 in her team's only innings of a drawn affair with India. She made her ODI debut during India's visit too, scoring an unbeaten 73 in the second match.

After back-to-back fifties at the 2022 World Cup, she was elevated to No. 3, scoring a century and 51 during South Africa's tour of England. A move to opening in ODIs during the 2023 Ashes backfired and, despite a half-century opening on the T20I leg of that series, she sat out Sri Lanka's white-ball tour later in the year to reset.

Returning to No. 5, Dunkley managed just 1 in her only ODI appearance of the 2024 winter tour of New Zealand, where she also struggled opening in the T20Is.

She didn't feature during Pakistan's tour of England in May of that year, but fought her way back into the side through domestic form to face New Zealand later in the summer. After limited opportunities during the T20 World Cup in 2024 and subsequent Ashes, Dunkley hit some good form across both white-ball formats in 2025 against West Indies and India.