Sophia Dunkley believes that losing her England place in 2024 was the defining moment that put her back on track for next month's T20 World Cup. Two summers ago, Dunkley was dropped by former head coach Jon Lewis, who challenged her to return to domestic cricket and prove him wrong.
She seized the opportunity with gusto, averaging 97.66 in her next five innings to earn a rapid recall to the squad. However, Dunkley was still not first choice at the T20 World Cup that autumn, featuring just once as England were knocked out at the group stage in the United Arab Emirates.
Now, she is a permanent fixture under Charlotte Edwards, with her opening partnership with Danni Wyatt-Hodge considered stable enough to end rising star Davina Perrin's hopes of making the cut as an alternative at the top. Dunkley credits her brief omission with helping her bounce back even stronger.
“I think coming out of the team was the best thing that ever happened to me,” she told the Press Association. “I could go away, mentally reframe what I wanted to do and go away to work on a few things. It’s definitely given me a better trajectory and I feel in a good place with it all.”
She added: “It gave me the best chance to be successful and I’m so grateful for that time I had to go and reflect and think about things. I feel like in sport you are always replaceable, it’s not like you’re there forever and there’s always people who want your spot and will fight for it. You know your place is never guaranteed…that’s the competition that drives better performance.”
Dunkley made 56 runs across three innings in the 2-1 series win over New Zealand and has three more outings against India to tune up, starting at Chelmsford on Thursday. After some modest showings at global competitions in recent years, the expectation is higher on home soil where England will look to rekindle the feelings that saw them become 50-over world champions at Lord's in 2017.
“I was in the crowd then, watching the girls lift that trophy, so to have the opportunity myself is amazing,” she said. “Seeing the streams of people queuing outside Lord’s and riding that wave was a really special moment. Creating that party feel again in England and getting everyone together over the summer is something that we really hope can happen. We love playing at home, we love the crowds and we can’t wait to see what support we get.”
