Hundred winners and regional stars: Who are England's youngsters at the Women's Under-19 World Cup?

POLLY STARKIE profiles England's squad for the inaugural Women's Under-19 World Cup

Two years after it was due to take place, the inaugural Women's Under-19 World Cup is upon us.

England, headed up by Lightning coach Chris Guest, have been drafted into Group B, where they will face Pakistan, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.

The top three teams from each pool will move into the Super Sixes, where the four original groups will become two pools of six countries, ahead of the semi-finals and ultimately the final, which is set for Potchefstroom on January 29.

The T20 tournament had originally been pencilled in for the end of 2021, before the pandemic shifted the timings.

Guest is being assisted by former England stalwart Laura Marsh and Central Sparks coach Darren Franklin, and they are overseeing a squad that is both unsurprisingly young but also featuring several players with experience of The Hundred.

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Ellie Anderson (Central Sparks)

Role: Allrounder (right-hand bar, right-arm medium)

Team(s): Worcestershire, Central Sparks Academy

Allrounder Ellie Anderson has worked her way through the Worcestershire ranks, solidifying herself in the senior side in 2018 and is now a part of the Central Sparks Academy.

Anderson has been part of Central Sparks senior squads but has not yet made her debut. In an unbeaten campaign, she top-scored in the 2022 season for Worcestershire with 43*, taking nine wickets, her best figures being 3 for 20 against Staffordshire.

She has also been a vital part of the Worcestershire Women U18 side. As one of the more experienced players, she captained them to the quarter-finals of the U18 County Cup and scored 333 runs across the season, with a high score of 70 not out. Additionally, she took 14 wickets with best figures of 4 for 15 against Leicestershire Women U18 in a 14-run victory.

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^{Grace Scrivens will captain England in South Africa (David Rogers/Getty Images)}

Hannah Baker  (Central Sparks)

Role: Bowler (right-arm leg-spin)

Team(s): Warwickshire, Central Sparks, Welsh Fire

Hannah Baker was involved in the first year of the new regional setup, playing for Central Sparks from age 16. As an established part of Sparks' bowling attack, Baker took 12 wickets in 13 games across the 2022 season as one of their most economical bowlers. The leg-spinner made her senior county debut aged 14 for Worcestershire and then made the move to Warwickshire in 2020, becoming their leading wicket-taker for the 2021 season.

After some impressive performances in 2021, she was signed by Welsh Fire for the inaugural season of The Hundred as an injury replacement, re-signing for the 2022 edition. Baker will not only bring her wicket-taking abilities to the side but also a relative wealth of experience, having also played against India in a warm-up match ahead of their series against England last summer.

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Josie Groves  (Blaze)

Role: Bowler (right-arm leg-spin)

Team(s): Northamptonshire, Blaze

A product of Lightning's academy, Josie Groves was given her opportunity to represent the senior side in September of 2021. In the 2022 season, she played eight times, taking eight wickets for her region, dismissing the likes of Sophie Luff and Maia Bouchier.

Although she is predominantly a bowler, she made her maiden senior half century for Lightning in 2022 against Southern Vipers in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, hitting 55 in just 39 deliveries.

Reflecting on her debut in 2021, she recalled: "The night before, I was late for the team meeting in the hotel because I was at school. I went in the morning, got there early, just did a bit of bowling before the actual bowlers came in to warm up for the game. I finished that and the coach was like: 'You're gonna play.' So, it was all kind of a shock!"

Remarkably, Groves balances all this while also playing netball for Saracens Mavericks and Northants Storm and most recently was selected in the 2022/23 intake for the Roses Academy Programme, the level below the senior national team.

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^{Emma Marlow was a key part of Northern Diamonds' side that won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)}

Liberty Heap (Thunder)

Role: Allrounder (right-hand bat, right-arm off-spin)

Team(s): Lancashire, Thunder

Liberty Heap is the oldest member of what is a very young side. Making her senior county debut back in 2019, Heap progressed to the Thunder senior side in 2020, performing with both bat and ball.

Heap's most notable senior performance was her unbeaten 36* off 18 balls in a losing cause against Western Storm in the last game of the 2022 season. In the same match, Heap took the wicket of former England player Fran Wilson, again proving herself as a reliable allrounder.

Heap is currently taking a gap year and is one of very few players not currently having to balance education and cricket.

"I found that very difficult at the time, to be honest," she explained. "It was a case of trying to prioritise different things at different times so with exams coming up I would try and make sure I was getting enough revision in but then also not wanting my cricket to fall behind.

"I really feel for the girls that are still in college and school right now because I would not be able to do it with the amount of training."

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Niamh Holland (Western Storm)

Role: Allrounder (right-hand bat, right-arm medium)

Team(s): Somerset, Western Storm

Niamh Holland was involved with the first year of the regional structure; her call-up was perhaps premature, only taking one wicket all season and not featuring in 2021. However, after spending that season in the academy, she returned to the senior squad in 2022, taking four wickets.

Holland has been outstanding in the Women's T20 County Championships and in 2022 was the leading wicket-taker, with 12 to her name, helping her native Somerset reach the final where they narrowly lost to Warwickshire. Her most notable bowling performance was against Warwickshire where she finished with figures of 3 for 11 from her four overs – the most economical player in her side.

Alongside her successes for the senior team, Holland has also had outstanding moments for the U18 side. In a 37-run triumph over Wales, she made an unbeaten 105.

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^{Hannah Baker is one of several young spinners in the squad (Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)}

Ryana MacDonald-Gay  (South East Stars)

Role: Bowler (right-arm medium)

Team(s): Kent, South East Stars, Oval Invincibles

Another academy graduate, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, has just signed her first professional contract with South East Stars. She took five wickets in seven games as Oval Invincibles retained their Hundred crown in 2022.

"I played all the games which was so unexpected," she said. "I was gobsmacked when he [Jonathan Batty] said you're in the playing XI. I had been playing hockey, so I hadn't played a huge amount of Stars games for the seniors so coming into the competition, I was really nervous and I remember for the first game I was shaking. We played the later slot at the Oval in the opener, it was a massive crowd – you couldn’t hear anyone."

MacDonald-Gay was then selected to play against India in a warmup match ahead of their series with England in September. Her contribution was remarkable, taking 6 for 18, including a hat-trick and the  wickets of international stars Shafali Verma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma and Renuka Singh.

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Emma Marlow (Northern Diamonds)

Role: Bowler (right-arm off-spin)

Team(s): Yorkshire, Northern Diamonds, Trent Rockets

Emma Marlow made a name for herself last summer, debuting on the first day of the season against Lightning and ending the campaign by winning the Heyhoe Flint Trophy at Lord's. On her Diamonds bow, she bowled England opener Tammy Beaumont and Scotland captain Kathryn Bryce, finishing with figures of 2 for 12 from her four overs.

"Me and Lizzie Scott, we got there very early probably half an hour before the meet time," she said, recalling the Lord's victory that ended Southern Vipers' stranglehold on the 50-over tournament.

"We just wandered over and we just stood on the balcony, like what is happening? I think neither of us would have expected to be there at the start of the season. A lot of photos were taken a lot of badgering but what else are you gonna do? I mean, it's Lord's. Walking through the Long Room was mad, it was unreal."

Marlow's impressive 14 wickets across the season for Northern Diamonds' senior side helped her selection for this World Cup, alongside her Hundred contract with Trent Rockets where she did not play a game but spent plenty of time learning from world-class players including Katherine Brunt, Ellyse Villani and Mignon Du Preez.

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^{Sophia Smale starred in The Hundred for Oval Invincibles (Ashley Allen/Getty Images)}

Charis Pavely  (Central Sparks)

Role: Allrounder (left-hand bat, left-arm spinner)

Team(s): Worcestershire, Central Sparks Academy

Allrounder Charis Pavely is the second Worcestershire player in the squad. Similar to teammate Ellie Anderson, she has been a key part of Worcestershire's women's team, winning their group in the T20 County Championships in 2022.

Across Pavely's 40 recorded games in the 2022 season, she scored 1,137 runs, top scoring with 146* for her club team, Old Elizabethans CC. Pavely's performances for Worcestershire Women U18 must also be noted. In 13 innings, she scored 610 runs, top scoring with an unbeaten 103 against Warwickshire U18 in a 146-run victory. Pavely claimed figures of 4 for 12 to register her best performance of the season with the ball against Shropshire.

Pavely is also on Central Sparks' academy, featuring regularly and, like many of the under-19 team, has played multiple times in the School Games held at Loughborough University.

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Davina Perrin (Central Sparks)

Role: Allrounder (right-hand bat, right-arm medium, right-arm leg-spin)

Team(s): Staffordshire, Central Sparks, Birmingham Phoenix

Davina Perrin is one of the most exciting young talents in England. Only days after her fifteenth birthday, Perrin made her debut for Central Sparks and has become a vital member of the team, often opening the batting; she can bowl both seam and leg-spin.

Alexa Stonehouse, her England teammate, described her succinctly: "She's very good – a class cricketer."

At only 16 years old, Davina signed her first professional contract with Sparks and was a part of Birmingham Phoenix's squad in 2022 as the youngest player involved in The Hundred.

While most of the team will be studying for their A-Levels and BTechs, Davina is still to sit her GCSEs, only being in Year 11.

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^{Alexa Stonehouse is an impressive allrounder and an exciting left-arm seamer (Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)}

Lizzie Scott  (Northern Diamonds)

Role: Bowler (right-arm medium)

Team(s): North East Warriors, Northern Diamonds

Northumberland-born and bred, Lizzie Scott has had a whirlwind of a summer. Starting the season in the Northern Diamonds Academy, coached by Courtney Winfield-Hill, she was promoted to the senior side in September 2022, making her debut in the penultimate group game of the season.

Since Durham merged with her home county of Northumberland, Scott has been a part of the North East Warriors side. Last season, she took the wicket of professionally contracted Laura Jackson, with her season-best performance for the team – 2 for 14 from her 4 overs. For the U18 side, she took 4 for 15 against Yorkshire U18, where they won by 49 runs.

Scott played a key role in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy final against Southern Vipers. She bowled Georgia Elwiss for three and claimed figures of 1 for 10 from five overs.

Playing at Lord's in a final was not something that Scott had planned to achieve this year, but under-19 selection was something she had in mind.

"I'd known about it for almost two, three years," she said, "and I remember I was in a PE lesson and I was back at school and I was asked: 'What is your ultimate goal for the next five years?' And I said, as if it was never going to happen: 'I mean, there is U19 World Cup that I would love to be a part of.'"

On Shafali Verma's presence in India's squad, she added: "I literally found it out through our group chat that we've got, so someone sent a screenshot of this news article that she was being announced and we were all just like: 'Oh my God, this is insane, we're going to be playing against one of the best players in the world.' So, I think if I ever did get the chance to bowl at her, I would just be almost in awe. I just feel that this is such an honour but even so imagine taking her wicket or something it would be insane, another bucket list thing to pick up.

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^{Ryana Macdonald-Gay was part of Oval Invincibles' Hundred-winning side (Julian Finney/Getty Images)}

Grace Scrivens  (Sunrisers)

Role: Allrounder (left-hand bat, right-arm off-spin)

Team(s): Kent, Sunrisers, London Spirit

Last season, at only 18, Grace Scrivens was the backbone of Sunrisers in a winless campaign in both the Charlotte Edwards Cup and the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.

In the Charlotte Edwards Cup she scored 141 runs and was joint leading wicket-taker with seven. To nobody's surprise, she was again the top run-scorer in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, accumulating 297 runs, including four half centuries, finishing as the third-highest run-scorer in the tournament.

Her achievements did not stop there as she took 13 wickets, making her the joint-leading wicket-taker for the tournament with Northern Diamonds' Linsey Smith who played a game more than her.

Scrivens, who has been named as England's captain for the tournament, has previous captaincy experience with Kent.

Teammate Maddie Ward spoke highly of Scrivens' natural leadership.

"Having Grace Scrivens involved, she's a massive influence on everyone," said Ward. "Honestly, she's one of the most professional people that I've ever met in my life.

"She's great and to be so young and that knowledgeable and have the work ethic that she does, I think she rubs off great on everyone in the team."

Scrivens received a professional contract with Sunrisers in the winter of 2021, which she balanced with her final year of A-Levels. She was retained by Hundred side London Spirit, whom she also played for in its inaugural year.

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Sophia Smale  (Western Storm)

Role: Bowler (left-arm spinner)

Team(s): Wales, Western Storm, Oval Invincibles

Welsh spinner Sophia Smale is one of the most recognisable names in the squad. After making her senior debut for Western Storm last May in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, Smale was called into the Oval Invincibles squad in the Hundred as a last-minute injury replacement.

Taking her opportunity, she finished the tournament as Invincibles' joint-leading wicket-taker with eight at an average of 18.25, notably picking up the scalp of Australia's Alyssa Healey with her second delivery of the competition.

It does seem to be the case that Smale only gets the big names out. Among her victims so far are Amy Jones, Sophia Dunkley, Alice Capsey, Smriti Mandhana, Emma Lamb, Erin Burns, Sophie Devine, Dannie Wyatt and Thalia McGrath.

"I guess the stats say so," she said. "I do always get chat like: 'Oh, you're only getting A-Listers out, which is true and I don't mind it. I'd rather get those out than someone who's not as well known, but I guess it just comes, doesn't it?

"I love a challenge and I think that might be the case obviously, I know when a big-name player comes up, they're going to be good. I think part of me might be a little bit more determined to get them out."

In the autumn, Smale signed a professional contract with Western Storm while still studying for her A-Levels. She also has a List A half century to her name, for which she credits her grandfather's coaching.

"My grandpa, he's been my coach since I was five and he taught me the basic technique," she added.

Smale also plays hockey and has played through the Wales age-groups, as well as playing county tennis as a child.

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^{Lizzie Scott won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy with Northern Diamonds in 2022 (Paul Harding/Getty Images)}

Seren Smale  (Thunder)

Role: Wicketkeeper (right-hand bat)

Team(s): Lancashire, Thunder

The second – and younger – Smale in the team is Seren, though the pair are unrelated. Again, Welsh-born, Seren plays for Thunder and opened the batting with Deandra Dottin, while Emma Lamb was away playing for England. Smale's best batting performance came at the end of the season where, alongside Dottin, she was involved in Thunder's highest-ever opening partnership of 87.

Smale made half centuries in both her games for the Thunder Academy in 2022 and made eight appearances for Lancashire Women.

Across all her cricket, her successes have also been behind the stumps. Taking nine catches and seven stumpings, Smale has another string to her bow but is yet to keep for Thunder's senior side, with captain Ellie Threlkeld behind the stumps there.

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Alexa Stonehouse (South East Stars)

Role: Bowler (left-arm medium)

Team(s): Kent, South East Stars, Trent Rockets

South East Stars academy graduate Alexa Stonehouse is another player in the side to have featured at regional level.

She made her senior debut in 2021 and has since signed a professional contract with South East Stars. She has taken some impressive wickets, dismissing the likes of Dani Gibson, Sophie Luff, Nat Wraith and Vipers Captain, Georgia Adams.

Making her way though the Surrey set up, she had opportunities to train with the seniors from an early age.

"When I was about under-15," she said, "I got selected for the South East Stars academy, at that point it was RDC so Surrey Stars. I started training more with the seniors, so that was quite good exposure and quite nice to be training with those sort of people, get information out of them and it's something that I've really enjoyed.

Stonehouse's talent has been recognised, signing a Hundred contract with Trent Rockets for the 2022 season where she spent time being mentored by England legend Katherine Brunt. Stonehouse also had the opportunity to play against South Africa for England A in a warm-up three-day game. She didn't take a wicket but bowled three maidens in South Africa's first innings.

"Having the cricket whites and having your name on the back, that’s something that I’ve dreamed of since I was little," she reflected. "Even having the opportunity to just play in that sort of environment, I couldn't stop smiling when I heard about it, to be honest."

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Maddie Ward  (Blaze)

Role: Wicketkeeper (right-hand bat)

Team(s): Nottinghamshire, Blaze Academy

Maddie Ward has made her way through the Nottinghamshire age-groups, making the senior team and then playing for the Lightning academy. For Nottinghamshire, in the 2022 season, Ward scored 58 runs, taking three catches and seven stumpings.

Last summer was a successful one for Ward, as she scored almost 1,000 runs across 39 matches with a high score of 109 not out.

Ward came into wicketkeeping by chance, stepping up when other people did not want to keep and, with keeping in the genes, it clearly was the right route for her.

"I'd done it a few times in the garden practising with my dad because my grandad was a keeper, he was really good so my dad was like: 'Maybe you'll be just as good as he was.'"

Although for some players, selection may have been taken for granted due to their wealth of experience in senior cricket, it was not the same for Ward.

After struggling with the bat, the School Games — an ECB-organised tournament featuring the best school-age cricketers — was Ward's prime opportunity to showcase her skills.

"For me, I wanted to prove that I was good enough to be picked," she said. "There's been a lot of questions around my batting, I'm quite a late developer with the bat, I haven't scored as many runs as quite a lot of people in the under-19 team but this year, I've really turned it on and tried my hardest to score as many runs as I possibly can."

These profiles were originally published on Polly Starkie's Medium blog. Click here to read.