England’s World Cup Squad 2025 – who could be selected?

After England’s series against India finished this week, let us consider who could and should feature in the squad of 15 to travel to the World Cup in September. To start with, it’s worth looking at the make up of the squads for the last two World Cups. Highlighted in green are players who are still playing for England. What we can see immediately is that England are probably short of a specialist batter in the current squad. This specialist batter place probably belongs to Heather Knight if she can prove her fitness. It’s also worth pointing out that all three “all-rounders” are not really all-rounders at all because two of them didn’t bowl and one of them didn’t feature at all in the ODI series against India.

	England Squad 2017		England Squad 2022		England Squad  v India 2025
Bat	Tammy Beaumont	Bat	Heather Knight	Bat	Tammy Beaumont
Bat	Lauren Winfield-Hill	Bat	Tammy Beaumont	Bat	Maia Bouchier
Bat	Laura Marsh	Bat	Sophia Dunkley	Bat	Sophia Dunkley
Bat	Fran Wilson	Bat	Emma Lamb	Bat	Emma Lamb
Bat	Heather Knight	Bat	Lauren Winfield-Hill	A/R	Alice Davidson-Richards
Bat	Danni Wyatt	Bat	Danni Wyatt	A/R	Nat Sciver-Brunt
WK	Sarah Taylor	A/R	Katherine Brunt	A/R	Alice Capsey
A/R	Nat Sciver	A/R	Nat Sciver	WK	Amy Jones
A/R	Katherine Brunt	WK	Amy Jones (wk)	Bowl	Emily Arlott
A/R	Georgia Elwiss	Bowl	Kate Cross	Bowl	Lauren Bell
A/R	Jenny Gunn	Bowl	Freya Davies	Bowl	Kate Cross
Bowl	Beth Langston	Bowl	Charlie Dean	Bowl	Charlie Dean
Bowl	Anya Shrubsole	Bowl	Sophie Ecclestone	Bowl	Sophie Ecclestone
Bowl	Dani Hazell	Bowl	Tash Farrant	Bowl	Lauren Filer
Bowl	Alex Hartley	Bowl	Anya Shrubsole	Bowl	Linsey Smith

So here, in my opinion, are 10 nailed-on certainties for the World Cup Squad

Bat	Tammy Beaumont	When Beaumont does well, England do well. The rock upon which England’s best performances are built. Vastly experienced, a good fielder and our only back up wicket-keeper option.
Bat	Sophia Dunkley	Has cemented herself back in the side with some eye-catching performances this season.
Bat	Emma Lamb	Having been ignored by Jon Lewis and losing her England contract, she responded with some huge county scores for Lancashire. Immediately recalled by Edwards, she has performed decently rather than spectacularly for England this season. Offers off spin bowling if needed.
A/R	Nat Sciver-Brunt	Captain and best batter. First name on the team sheet.
WK	Amy Jones	Successful with the bat after being made opener with Beaumont and arguably the world’s number one wicketkeeper.
Bowl	Lauren Bell	Consistently selected to bowl in the powerplay and death overs. Limited success this season, but the number one pace bowler for England over the last three years.
Bowl	Charlie Dean	England are highly likely to bowl three spinners in many, if not all, World Cup matches. So Dean has to play.
Bowl	Sophie Ecclestone	England’s best bowler.
Bowl	Lauren Filer	Inconsistent at times, but offers the sort of pace that is rare in the women’s game, causing noticeable discomfort at times to even the world’s best batters. Can be very expensive. Selected on the basis of offering pace that nobody else can offer.
Bowl	Linsey Smith	Will be the third spinner in England’s team for most games.

Plus one more person if fit:

Bat

Heather Knight

Has been out with a hamstring injury since the West Indies series in May. If fit she will be in the first eleven.

So, if 11 places are taken, who are the possible players to fill the final 4 places?

Bat	Maia Bouchier	Highly likely to be selected, as it would seem England need another specialist batter in reserve and offers great fielding skills.
A/R	Alice Davidson-Richards	Likely to make it if Heather Knight doesn’t. Not really an all-rounder, has struggled with her bowling for Surrey and for England versus the West Indies this season. Was not bowled at all against India. A good egg and a safe pair of hands.
A/R	Alice Capsey	Gave an interview saying that being dropped by England last winter was the best thing that happened to her, and the next day she was dropped again. Could offer a few overs of off spin if (as expected), Nat Sciver-Brunt cannot bowl a full ten over allocation. Brimming with potential, largely unfulfilled at the moment.
Bowl	Em Arlott	The one player that Edwards plucked from the obscurity of county cricket to join the England side this season. She has done pretty well, taking 6 ODI wickets in 3 games this season and bowling with control and economy at times. With England likely to play no more than 2 pace bowlers per game in the World Cup, it seems unlikely that there will be room for both her and Kate Cross in the final 15.
Bowl	Kate Cross	The 33 year old spent the Ashes tour on the sidelines. Selected for the first ODI against India, she took 0/60 and was not selected for the next two games. Sadly, it looks like this might be the end of the road for Cross.

Going rogue: players who have a very slim chance of coming into contention during the Hundred if there are injuries

Bat	Danni Wyatt-Hodge	If England need another specialist batter, Wyatt-Hodge might fit the bill. Dropped for the ODI team by Edwards, she could play a useful role in the middle order if required. Part of the last two England World Cup squads. Has also got recent experience playing in India in the WPL.
A/R	Freya Kemp	After long-term injury, the hard-hitting all-rounder could offer some balance to this England team. Big question marks, however, about the effectiveness of her bowling following the stress fracture of her back.
A/R	Dani Gibson	Another player who could offer this elusive “balance” to the team. Out of action since March with a stress fracture. Due to come back for the Hundred. Her ability to bowl well will be the key factor on whether she gets a World Cup slot.
Bowl	Sarah Glenn	Unlucky in being overlooked a lot by the new England régime. Our only wrist spinner, she arguably offers a point of difference to the spin department in the same way that Filer offers it to the pace department. However, having taken 3/21 and won player of the match against West Indies at the ODI in Taunton, she has not been selected again for any games in the series against India.

Of these players, I would seriously look at Sarah Glenn as a “point of difference” selection. However, it appears from selections this summer that this is highly unlikely.

My personal 15 for the World Cup:

Bat	Tammy Beaumont
Bat	Sophia Dunkley
Bat	Emma Lamb
Bat	Heather Knight
Bat	Maia Bouchier
WK	Amy Jones
A/R	Nat Sciver-Brunt
A/R	Alice Capsey
Bowl	Lauren Bell
Bowl	Charlie Dean
Bowl	Sophie Ecclestone
Bowl	Lauren Filer
Bowl	Linsey Smith
Bowl	Em Arlott
Bowl	Sarah Glenn