Charlie Dean

Charlie Dean, an offspin-bowling allrounder, was fast-tracked into the England ODI squad at the age of 20 after impressive performances for Southern Vipers and London Spirit. She took ten wickets at 19.20 apiece in her debut series against New Zealand in September 2021 after beating Sarah Glenn and Mady Villiers to selection and looked set for a bright international future.

Dean made her T20I debut in a washed-out Ashes fixture in January 2022 and took 2 for 24 in Australia's second innings of the drawn Test a few days later. But once the Ashes ended in February, it would be nearly a year before she played another match for England, on their tour of the West Indies in December 2022, and she took 4 for 19 in the second of five T20Is, which remain her career-best figures in the format.

She took an ODI five-for against Sri Lanka during the home summer of 2023, and a hat-trick during the second ODI against South Africa in December 2024. An unbeaten 47 at No. 8 in the previous ODI against South Africa reinforced Dean's credentials as a reliable lower-order batter.

By the time England had returned from a dire 2025 Ashes campaign, Dean's name was being mentioned as a possible successor to captain Heather Knight - the role ultimately went to Nat Sciver-Brunt. Dean did, however, take over from the injured Knight as captain of London Spirit, who were knocked out in the Eliminator by eventual champions Northern Superchargers.