Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Surrey's uncapped 18-year-old left-arm spinner, is the stand-out inclusion in England's 15-player squad for the Women's T20 World Cup, which gets underway at Edgbaston on June 12.
Corteen-Coleman shot to prominence as a 16-year-old, when she took four wickets in four balls for South East Stars in the Charlotte Edwards Cup in 2024. She has since made a name for herself in the Hundred for Southern Brave, and was recently namechecked by Edwards, England's head coach, on the ESPNcricinfo Powerplay podcast after impressing on last month's 30-player intra-squad trip to South Africa.
She is one of three players in the squad who will be featuring in their first T20 World Cup, with fast bowlers Issy Wong and Lauren Filer also included. For the most part, however, England have stuck with their tried-and-tested performers for their first home ICC tournament since winning the 50-over World Cup in 2017.
Nat Sciver-Brunt will captain the side as she enters her seventh T20 World Cup, while Surrey's Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who has been in fine form throughout the winter having just turned 35, will be featuring in her eighth such campaign. One notable omission is the 19-year-old batter Davina Perrin, the breakout star of last year's Hundred, who has missed the cut on this occasion.
"The waiting and wondering is over," Edwards said in a press release. "We have named our ICC Women's T20 World Cup squad and there is no doubt that it has been incredibly tough to get to these 15 names.
"This is the hardest set of selection meetings I have been a part of because the pool of players to choose from is so strong and so many talented players have put their hand up to be a part of the squad, which is exactly what we want. That is the nature of world-class sport, and it is a privilege we don't take lightly to be able to make these difficult decisions.
"An ICC Women's T20 World Cup on home soil is a special moment for the game in this country, and we are all really motivated by what could be ahead for this group of players and what they can achieve this summer."
Wong's selection marks another step in her international resurgence after she broke back into the T20I ranks last summer having missed the World Cup in 2024 and endured a difficult run of form through 2023.
Meanwhile, leg-spinner Sarah Glenn was not considered for selection in a spin-heavy line-up containing three left-armers and off-spinner Dean as she continues her recovery from a broken finger.
Sciver-Brunt said: "It is a huge honour to be leading England into a T20 World Cup at home in front of family and friends and all our passionate supporters.
"We have all been looking forward to this summer and this tournament for some time now and the naming of the squad means it is almost here and we can't wait to get out onto the field and give it everything to win this World Cup again.
"I know how much winning in 2009 meant to the players and to Charlotte Edwards as captain, and being in the team under Heather Knight's leadership for the 2017 ODI World Cup win was incredibly special.
"Now the aim is to do something similar with this fantastic group of players who I know are putting their heart and soul into achieving our goal, and that hard work will continue right throughout the summer as we start with games against New Zealand and India before that tournament begins."
The World Cup squad will also contest three T20Is against New Zealand and three against India leading into the tournament. Before that, England play New Zealand in three ODIs from May 10, for which they have also named a squad of 18, including Corteen-Coleman and with maiden call-ups for Kira Chathli and Jodi Grewcock. Tammy Beaumont, the veteran opener, has been omitted.
Sophia Dunkley and Dean will miss the ODI series to manage their workloads, as will Wyatt-Hodge due to the the imminent arrival of her first baby.
Grewcock, who bowls legspin and bats left-handed, was another player who impressed Edwards in South Africa.
Asked if there were any lesser-known names banging the door down for selection during that training camp, Edwards told Powerplay: "Tilly Corteen-Coleman played in every game as an 18 year old, which I guess is exciting for her to mix around the England group. Davina Perrin. She's very exciting. Jodi Grewcock. In particular, they've been around the squad a lot this winter, so players we've really identified from county cricket and players we see for the future."
