Yorkshire product Erin Thomas has been called up to the England Under-19s squad for the T20 World Cup in Malaysia at the start of next year.
Top order batter Thomas, 18, has played age-group cricket for her home county and progressed into the Northern Diamonds Academy.
A product of the Selby club, Drax CC, Thomas has played six times for Yorkshire women’s senior team in county cricket over the last two seasons, captaining them once.
Pictured, Erin Thomas has been called up to the England Under-19s squad for the T20 World Cup in Malaysia at the start of next year.
Sandwiched in between, at the start of the summer just gone, she also represented England Under 19s in a tri-series in Sri Lanka against the hosts and Australia. Thomas played in five matches on tour, a mixture of T20 and 50-over fixtures.
A prolific run-scorer at Academy and second-team level for the Northern Diamonds, Thomas is also a graduate of the successful Yorkshire Cricket College.
England Under 19s will be one of 16 nations who take part in the 15-day event in Malaysia, running from January 18 to February 25.
There will be four groups of four to start the World Cup, with the top three teams in each qualifying for the Super 6 phase, when teams will be split into two groups of six. The top two from each then advance to the semi-finals.
England are in Group B alongside Ireland, Pakistan and USA. Their trio of group stage fixtures will be played in Johor.
Thomas is one of 15 players selected by recently appointed head coach Chris Guest, while an additional five players have been selected as non-travelling reserves.
This will be the second edition of the U19 T20 World Cup. England were beaten finalists by India in South Africa in January 2023.
Richard Bedbrook, Head of England Women Performance Pathways, said: “It is always an exciting time to be able to name an U19 World Cup squad and all those chosen, including the non-travelling reserve group, can be very proud of this achievement.
“We hope each individual takes a huge amount from the experience they are about to have and uses it to continue developing themselves as a person and player.
Chris Guest, England Women U19 Performance Lead, added: “What excites me most about working with the Under-19 age group is the constant cycle of new talent and new groups coming through.
“We’ve named a squad which features some players who have been involved at this age group before and some who haven’t.
“This World Cup is a part of these players’ journey, not the end or the start, and our message to them is to embrace the challenge, evolve ourselves and enjoy the ride.
“Naturally we want to do well but the programme is about developing these players in the future and for the long-term.
“It was really exciting to see Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Hannah Baker, Seren Smale and Charis Pavely feature for the senior team in Ireland after representing the U19s in the first edition of this World Cup in 2023.
“This acts as real inspiration for this group and demonstrates how important this tournament can be for a player’s development.”
England Under-19s squad: Phoebe Brett, Olivia Brinsden, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Trudy Johnson, Katie Jones, Charlotte Lambert, Abi Norgrove, Eve O’Neill, Davina Perrin, Jemima Spence, Charlotte Stubbs, Amuruthaa Surenkumar, Prisha Thanawala, Erin Thomas, Grace Thompson.
Non-travelling reserves: Maria Andrews, Sophie Beech, Daisy Gibb, Poppy Tulloch, Annie Williams.
