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International Women’s Day: Somerset’s England Stars
To mark International Women’s Day, we are shining the spotlight on the women who have played for Somerset and also represented England.
The Somerset Women played their first recorded match on May 19th, 1956 at Morlands Athletic Ground in Glastonbury when they faced Surrey Women Second XI.
Since that day, several players who have represented Somerset have gone on to feature for England.
Audrey Disbury
One of the players to feature for Somerset in that match at Morlands Athletic Ground that day was Audrey Disbury.
She was the standout performer for Somerset, claiming two of the five Surrey Second XI wickets to fall and finishing with figures of two for 28 from 10 overs.
Her Test match debut came in the winter of 1957 against New Zealand in Christchurch. She went on to play 10 Tests for England between 1957 and 1969, scoring 391 runs with a best of 47 and claiming two wickets.
She was the first member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service to play for England.
Audrey captained the International XI at the Women’s World Cup in 1973 and also skippered Kent.
In later life, she ran a guest house and also served as a Test match selector for England.
Jean Cummins
Another of the players who featured for Somerset in that game at Glastonbury was Jean Cummins.
An opening batter, Jean played three Test matches for England against New Zealand in 1954, scoring a total of 90 runs.
She played for Surrey from 1946 until 1963, but featured for Somerset in that one game back in 1956.
Caroline Foster
Caroline made her England debut in a Test match against Australia at Shenley in June 2001.
The top order batter went on to feature in nine Tests, scoring 357 Test match runs with a best of 90. She also played in 58 ODIs, scoring 1291 runs with a best of 145 against South Africa at Lord’s in 2008. Her 19 IT20s yielded 56 runs.
She excelled with England and was a World Cup and T20 World Cup winner in 2009 as well as being a part of an Ashes winning side in 2008.
In 2002 Caroline shared a then Women’s Test match record opening stand of 200 with Arran Brindle against India.
She spent the majority of career with Sussex before joining Somerset in 2013.
Sarah Collyer
A right-handed all-rounder, Sarah played for England between 1998 and 2003, making her debut as a 17-year-old.
In seven Tests she claimed eight wickets with a best of two for 17 and scored 155 runs.
In 25 ODIs her medium pace inswingers claimed 24 victims with a best of five for 32 against the Netherlands in the 2000 World Cup. She also scored 277 runs.
She made her debut for Lancashire and Cheshire in 1995 before moving to Somerset via Cheshire in 2001.
In nine List A matches for Somerset she scored 237 runs at an average of 29.62 with a best of 94 and claimed five wickets with a best of two for 10.
Stephanie Davies
Steph made her Somerset debut at the age of 13 against Lancashire in 2001. She claimed her first wicket in her third match that summer, trapping Jane Morris lbw as part of an economic spell which saw her finish with one for five from four overs.
After impressing for the England Development Squad and England Under 19s, she made her full ODI debut against Australia in Sydney in 2008. She made an immediate impact, claiming four for 47.
In total, she featured in four ODIs, claiming six wickets at an average of 24.50.
Steph featured in 53 List A matches for Somerset, claiming 38 wickets at an average of 26.76 with a best of four for 17. She also scored 945 runs with a best of 70. She also featured in three T20 matches for the County.
She was named Somerset Captain in 2009, and she played her final game for the Club against Cheshire in 2011 after a decade of service.
Jan Godman
The right-hander played for Somerset between 2000 and 2011, scoring 379 runs in 18 List A matches at an average of 37.90 with a best of 117 not out. She also featured in three T20 matches for the County.
Prior to her time with Somerset she excelled for Thames Valley and West of England before finishing her career at Buckinghamshire via Wiltshire.
She made her England debut in the 1991 ODI European Championship against the Netherlands. She went on to feature in seven ODIs for her country, scoring 58 runs.
Jan’s England Test debut came in February 1992 against Australia in North Sydney. She had to wait until 1996 for her second Test cap which came against New Zealand at Worcester.
Away from the pitch, Jan has played a key role in helping to develop women’s cricket within the region.
She also played hockey for Buckinghamshire and for the South of England.
Laura Harper
After impressing at age group level and representing the England Development side, Laura made her England debut in 1999 as a 15 year old in the European Championships. She made an immediate impact by claiming five for 12 from her 8.4 overs to lift the Player of the Match award.
She finished the competition as the leading wicket taker.
In total she featured in 25 ODIs, claiming 33 wickets at an average of 16.3. She also scored 197 runs with a best of 41.
Laura also represented England in six Tests between 1999 and 2005, taking 11 wickets with a best of five for 66 and scoring 182 runs.
Between 2000 and 2006 Laura played 34 List A matches for Somerset, scoring 639 runs and taking 35 wickets at an average of 20 with a best of four for 20.
Jackie Hawker
After making her name with West of England, Jackie made her England Under 21 debut at the age of just 14.
Her full England debut came in 1999 and she went on to play in seven ODIs, scoring 32 runs. She also featured in England’s Test match against India in January 2002.
Jackie played for Somerset between 2000 and 2018. During that time she played in 115 List A matches, claiming 101 wickets at an average of 22.54 with a best of five for 16 and scoring 773 runs.
She also played in 29 T20 matches for the County, taking 18 wickets with a best of five for six.
Anya Shrubsole
Anya Shrubsole is a name that has become synonymous with the women’s game.
She made her Somerset debut when she was just 12 years old, claiming two for 20 against Berkshire.
At the age of 13 she became the first girl to join the Somerset Academy.
Her England debut came in the ODI victory over South Africa in August 2008. It was the start of a remarkable international career.
Anya played 86 ODIs and took 106 wickets with a best of six for 46, whilst her 79 IT20s yielded 102 wickets with a best of five for 11. She also featured in eight Tests in which she took 19 wickets with a best of four for 51.
She played an integral role in England’s World Cup victory on home soil in 2017, was named as one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year in 2018 and was awarded the MBE for her services to cricket.
Between 2004 and 2018 she played 71 List A matches for Somerset, claiming 89 wickets at an average of 13.95 with a best for seven for 28. She also scored 1483 runs with a top score of 105.
In T20 cricket, Anya played for Somerset on 17 occasions scoring 469 runs with a best of 109 not out. She claimed 11 wickets in the format with a best of three for 22.
Kath Wilkins
Kath played for West of England between 1991 and 1999 where her performances resulted in an international call up for the 1999 European Championships.
She featured in three games in the tournament, claiming four wickets with a best of two for four. She also scored 66 runs.
Although further international opportunities did not present themselves, she captained the Somerset side in 2000 and 2001.
In total she played in 15 List A matches for the Club in which she claimed 15 wickets at an average of 14.93 with a best of six for 36 and scored 68 runs.
Fran Wilson
World Cup winner Fran’s Somerset debut came in 2006 when she was 14 years old.
Between 2006 and 2014 Fran played 66 List A matches for the County, scoring 1777 runs at an average of 32.9 with a best of 103. She also represented Somerset in T20 cricket, scoring 810 runs in 20 matches at an average of 50.62 with a best of 99.
Her England debut came in 2010 with the highlight of her career coming in 2017 when she helped England to World Cup glory.
Fran has played in 33 ODIs, scoring 468 runs with a best of 85 not out. She has also featured in 30 IT20s in which she scored 356 runs with a top score of 43 not out.
She announced her international retirement in 2021, but remains an integral member of the Western Storm squad.
Katherine Winks
Between 1992 and 1999, Katherine played the majority of her cricket for West of England before joining Somerset ahead of the 2000 season.
After working her way through the England Youth set up, she made her ODI debut against Australia in 1998. In total she played in seven ODIs, scoring 24 runs, claiming two wickets and taking one catch.
In five List A matches for Somerset she scored 80 runs and claimed five wickets with a best of three for 35.
Hannah Lloyd
Hannah represented England at Under 17, Under 21 and Under 23 level before making her full international debut against the Netherlands in 1999.
She went on to play five ODIs, scoring 23 runs.
The top order batter represented West of England between 1996 and 1999 before joining Somerset, where she played until 2009 and captained between 2002 and 2008.
Hannah played 51 List A matches for Somerset, scoring 1373 runs at an average of 30.51 with a best of 136 not out.
Lauren Filer
Lauren made her Somerset debut in 2018 and has played 11 List A matches for the Club, taking eight wickets with a best of three for 21. She has also featured in 18 T20 matches for the County in which she has taken 13 wickets at an average of 17 with a best of two for 11.
Her recent performances for Western Storm have seen her called into the full England squad where she has made an immediate impression.
Her debut came in the Test match against Australia in June, claiming four wickets in the match. She also featured in England’s Test against India in December.
She was also selected for last year’s ODI series against Sri Lanka where her performances earned her the Player of the Series award. In the three matches she took eight wickets at an average of 10.25 with a best of three for 27.
It was recently announced that Lauren would be a part of the England ODI and T20 squads to face New Zealand in March and April.
