England Women squad named for ODI series with West Indies

Sarah Taylor, Sophie Ecclestone and Jenny Gunn have been named in a 15-strong squad for England Women's first two one-day internationals against West Indies.

Wicketkeeper Taylor was absent for the tour of Sri Lanka as part of the management of her anxiety, while Ecclestone suffered a broken hand in the preceding trip to India to preclude the left-arm spinner's involvement until now.

All-rounder Gunn, meanwhile, was rested for the entirety of the winter schedule but the trio are set to return to the international fold, with Georgia Elwiss missing out through injury.

England have won their last 10 matches in all formats, dating back to the end of the ODI series against India in late February.

Ahead of their attempts to regain the Ashes later this summer, England first take on the Windies in three ODIs and three T20s.

The first ODI is on Thursday at Grace Road while New Road and Chelmsford are the venues for the remaining matches in a series where England would seal qualification to the 2021 World Cup in New Zealand with two victories.

England captain Heather Knight said: "It's a massive summer for us and we're hugely excited to get going.

"We got ourselves into a really good place towards the back-end of the India trip and then throughout Sri Lanka and I want us to maintain those levels this summer.

"West Indies will be a big test so we'll need to be at our best but we've continued to grow and progress as a team and we're confident about what we can bring to the table.

"The first step is qualifying for the ICC Women's World Cup before we can begin to think about the IT20s and reclaiming the Ashes."

England Women squad for first two ODIs against West Indies: Heather Knight (captain), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Alex Hartley, Jenny Gunn, Amy Jones, Laura Marsh, Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Taylor, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danni Wyatt.