Glos duo picked in England women's performance squads
19 September 2014
Gloucestershire’s Alex Macdonald (pictured) and Danielle Gibson have been selected for the England Winter Performance Squads.
Bristol Phoenix allrounder Alex, 22, has won a place in the England Women’s Academy Squad while 13-year-old Danielle has been named in the Under 15 programme for the first time.
The pair will be joined in the England set-up by Gloucestershire Cricket Board clubs and programmes officer Lisa Pagett who has been named assistant coach with the Under 15s.
Lisa, who also coaches the county’s Senior Women and Under 15 team said: “I am delighted for Alex and Danielle, it is a fantastic achievement for them and it is also great news for the women and girls’ game in Gloucestershire.
“Both girls thoroughly deserve their call-ups and I am sure they will grasp the opportunity with both hands.”
Both players will attend a series of training camps at the National Cricket Performance Centre (NCPC) in Loughborough throughout the winter. The 12-strong Academy squad will be overseen by former Australia international Lisa Keightley while ex-England batter Caroline Foster (née Atkins) is head coach of the 21 member Under 15 squad.
This will be Alex Macdonald’s second involvement with the England Academy squad having enjoyed a successful tour to Sri Lanka with them in January and February this year.
Alex – the reigning Gloucestershire Women’s player of the year - made 552 runs at an average of 92 in the 2013 women’s County Championship. She missed most of the 2014 season through injury but returned to score a century against Scotland in the county’s final game.
Lisa said: “Alex’s selection in spite of missing so much cricket shows how highly she is thought of. Her hard-work and dedication has always been one of her strengths and she showed that again this year by battling back from injury and scoring a century in her first game back.”
Dumbleton allrounder Danielle has been selected for the Under 15 programme after impressing coaches at a talent identification camp in July.
She has enjoyed an excellent 2014, becoming the first girl to play for all four county teams – Under 13, 15, 17 and Senior Women in the same season. In total she scored 575 runs at a strike rate of 123 including a highest score of 107 scored in just 60 balls v Devon. She also took 16 wickets and 19 fielding dismissals (catches and run outs).
Danielle is also one of only two girls to be part of the Gloucestershire Emerging Players Programme.
Lisa said: “Dani is an exciting, instinctive cricketer that can change the game with bat, ball or in the field. She hits the ball as hard as anyone her age – female or male - and can take the game away from a team in a short space of time.
“She has performed well for every team she has played for and despite being just 13 didn’t look out of place when she made her debut for the Senior Women this season.”
Other Gloucestershire players to have achieved England recognition in the past include current Berkshire and former Bristol Phoenix player, Fi Morris who made the England Under 19 team in 2012 and Cirencester’s Eve Alder who has recently graduated from the Under 15 development programme.
