Batting all-rounder Sophia Dunkley became the first black woman to be selected in the England Test team when she was handed her cap ahead of the one-off Test versus India at the Bristol County Ground. Earlier this month, the South East Stars player, was added to England Women's central contracts list for the year 2021-22.
“Obviously playing Test cricket is a very rare occurrence in the women’s game so I think it’s exciting that people want to see women’s Test cricket,” said Sophia Dunkley in an interview with a news agency. “It’s a really exciting direction. I know quite a lot of the girls have not played a lot of Test cricket, but to have the opportunity to play the historic game of cricket, it’s very, very exciting. Obviously, the men get to play Test cricket all the time and it’s such a renowned format of cricket in the men’s game,” the 22-year-old added.
The all-rounder received her cap from team-mate Georgia Elwiss, who read out some words written by Ebony Rainford-Brent MBE - the first Black woman to play white-ball cricket for England. Rainford-Brent has in recent years overseen the development of the ACE Programme Charity which aims to develop diverse grassroots talent and increase diversity in the professional game. The former England and Surrey player said that Dunkley's milestone was a significant moment for cricket on a number of levels. "This is a massive moment. I think it's so proud for so many reasons. From a performance perspective she's been knocking down the door with runs and runs and runs. But on the other side of the big picture of the game as players talking about wanting to open it up, her position as a role model is important for young kids; young girls seeing her will reflect it is possible to play for England no matter your background,” she said.
While England handed a single debut to Dunkley, the Indian team, on the other hand, has as many as five debutants in its line-up. Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia, and Pooja Vastrakar made their first appearance in the whites for the country.