Sophia Dunkley was left “gutted” after England made the tough call to drop one of their most formidable stars during the 2024 summer. However, Dunkley has since fought her way back into England’s XI and has been one of the most impressive players during the 2025 Women’s Ashes, so much so that she has received a call-up to the Test.
She belted a spectacular 24-ball half-century in the opening T20I, the joint-second fastest for England in the format. Dunkley followed this up with a quick-fire 32 in Canberra. This could have been a match-defining knock had not been for the adverse weather.
Dunkley’s power and destructive nature in the series shows why England value her so highly. If she can continue putting on incredible displays, she will be a crucial cog in England’s top order, despite the tricky tour England have faced.
“It’s been a tough tour,” said Dunkley. “But I pride myself on playing with freedom and taking the game on when I feel it’s the right time to do so. I tried not to shy away from that and to inject some energy into our approach.
“I stuck to how I wanted to play and took on the bowlers. It was disappointing, especially in the first game, not to kick on and get closer to getting the job done. But it’s nice to contribute and be back around the team.
“We got close in a couple of games, and we put them under pressure at times, but ultimately, it wasn’t good enough.”
Dunkley shot to prominence at a young age, becoming an ever-present face in England’s squad just after her 20th birthday. However, a string of low scores in late 2023 and early 2024 left her position vulnerable. She had passed 20 just twice in 15 all-format international matches.
Her form combined with the rise of Maia Bouchier and Alice Capsey eventually saw her dropped ahead of the 2024 international summer.
“It was really hard to be left out of the team. It was gutting, but I understood why: I hadn’t performed as well as I’d liked over the last year or so.
“It was a good time for me to reflect and go away and work on what I needed to try and get back in the team. I’m 26 now. I’ve learned loads since I first debuted for England and have a lot of experience now. It’s a good time for me to try and kick on with my career.”
After leaving her out of England’s squad, head coach, Jon Lewis asked Dunkley to return to domestic cricket to find form before she could rejoin the international stage.
That is exactly what she did, making fifty against the Sunrisers in the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy before smashing 130 off 136 vs the Northern Diamonds. She followed this up by finishing as the third-highest run scorer in the Charlotte Edwards Cup.
“What I wanted to do was to go back and win games for the [South East] Stars and try and contribute as much as I can. It was great to be able to impact the team. So, I was proud that I used the time I had to do that, and it ultimately helped me to get back into the England team, which is really what I wanted.
“I worked a lot on my game mentally. I was a cricketer who was really aggressive, who tried to go out in the powerplay and take the game on, which is still something I want to do, but also to try and be a little bit smarter about it and try to be more calculated with that.
“Technically, there were a few changes that I had to make to my grip, head position, back leg and all that stuff, just to make my ball striking a little bit more consistent.
“I changed the position of my top hand, and how hard I’m gripping the bat. I was closing the bat face on a lot of shots so it’s just trying to get the full bat face to come through.”
She demonstrated her improved ball striking during the Women’s Ashes, as she cleared the rope with ease on five occasions in the three matches, as well as hitting 11 fours.
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Dunkley burst onto the domestic scene as a teenager, debuting for Middlesex as a 14-year-old. She soon became one of England’s most exciting prospects, after an impressive run in the Kia Super League.
“When you’re that young, you go in with that bit of naivety, and there’s not a lot you can lose. So, I think I just tried to attack it all and enjoy the experience, and not read too much into it, but just attack with everything I could. You don’t really have the fear when you’re that age.
“For me, as a player, I’m probably someone who likes to be brave and be aggressive, and it came through when I was younger.
“That’s the kind of brand of cricket that’s got me to where I am, and probably my difference from some other players. I want to live and breathe those kinds of values and be someone that people don’t want to bowl at.”
Dunkley and England now look forward to an enthralling Test match at the MCG. While the longest format is a rarity in women’s cricket, Dunkley affirmed that England had prepared well and were excited for the challenge.
“We’ve prepped quite a lot for this Test match. We’ve been in South Africa, played a Test and we’ve had various training sessions around red-ball and pink-ball cricket.
“Every Test match we play, we really take a lot out of it as a team, and we reflect, and we build a structure of how we want to play. There’s a lot of thought going into it and even though it feels like it’s once in a blue moon on paper, there’s actually been a bit of build-up before that.”
Dunkley expressed her enthusiasm for red-ball cricket to be introduced into England’s domestic calendar, alongside more Test cricket.
“We absolutely love playing Test cricket: the more of it, the better. It’s always a great spectacle for a Test match, especially in the women’s game.
“I’d definitely like to play in a domestic [red-ball] competition, but I can only speak for myself, I guess. If there was time to fit it into the schedule, I’m sure it would be welcomed.”