England Women's Cricket squad announced for India Tour

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has today announced the 14 players for the forthcoming women's tour to India. The teams will play five One-Day Internationals in Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata and one Test match in Mumbai, starting on Sunday 6th January.

Whilst the experienced opening bowling partnership of Clare Taylor and Lucy Pearson will travel to India, new additions include three young bowlers; Yorkshire's Championship-winning duo of medium-pacer Laura Spragg and off spinner Helen Wardlaw, plus Surrey's leg spinner Sarah Clarke.

John Harmer, the England women's coach, said "This is a balanced, competent squad which I expect to be competitive in India. We have worked hard during the autumn and the tour provides an opportunity to see how far we have come in a relatively short space of time."

The 14 players are:

Player *No. of matches Date of birth Caroline Atkins (Sussex) 3 13.01.1981 Jane Cassar (Notts) 77 24.12.1972 Sarah Clarke (Surrey) 0 28.03.1982 Clare Connor (Sussex) 57 01.09.1976 Mandie Godliman (Sussex) 0 05.04.1973 Dawn Holden (Notts) 23 09.10.1980 Kate Lowe (Notts) 7 02.08.1975 Laura Newton (Cheshire) 16 27.11.1977 Lucy Pearson (Staffs) 35 19.02.1972 Clare Taylor (Yorks) 86 22.05.1965 Claire Taylor (Berks) 27 25.09.1975 Arran Thompson (Lancs) 17 23.11.1981 Helen Wardlaw (Yorks) 0 11.10.1982 Laura Spragg (Yorks) 0 06.06.1982

England Captain Clare Connor said: "India is one of the most exciting places in the world to tour as a cricketer. We played to crowds in excess of 20,000 during the World Cup in India in '97, and I can't wait to play there again, especially to return as captain. India is an amazing, challenging place and a nation of cricket-lovers".

The England women's squad will, again, benefit from lottery funding. The winter sport science and coaching programme has been supported through Sport England's World Class funding stream, in addition to their ongoing commitment of funding for individual elite players.

England are still without the prolific 21-year-old batter Charlotte Edwards who is making good progress following an operation to rectify cruciate ligament damage to her right knee.

Four players have withdrawn from the squad, including three top order batters, due to University and College commitments. Sarah Collyer, Hannah Lloyd, Kathryn Leng and Laura Harper all take exams in January.

Patsy Lovell, Chairman of Selectors admitted "We have the chance to build on some of the performances this summer, and have introduced some young players, especially spinners, with India in mind. We have also re-introduced some more experienced players who have shown good form in the domestic competitions".

The itinerary for the Series is as follows: 6th January, 2002 - 1st ODI Match at Chennai 8th January, 2002 - 2nd ODI Match at Hyderabad 9th January, 2002 - 3rd ODI Match at Hyderabad 14th to 17th January, 2002 - Test Match at Mumbai (4 days) 20th January, 2002 - 4th ODI Match at Kolkata 24th January, 2002 - 5th ODI Match at Pune

The England squad will travel to India on 1st January 2002 and return on 20th February.

The England women's team is sponsored by Vodafone.