Last month, Issy Wong was named in England’s squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on home soil this summer. The tournament gets under way at Edgbaston in just over a weeks’ time, with this the latest step in Wong’s rapid rise through the cricketing ranks.
Wong is no stranger to the England setup, having made her Test debut in 2022 before going on to earn her first caps in both One Day Internationals and T20 Internationals later that year.
It’s easy to forget that Wong is still just 23 years old, such has been her presence in the professional game since bursting onto the scene at Edgbaston in 2019 as a 16-year-old determined to bowl quick.
Since then, she has become a regular for the Bears while also travelling the globe, impressing in franchise competitions in India and Australia, as well as starring on home soil for Birmingham Phoenix.
Starting out
Wong’s journey to England selection began when she took part in an after-school Chance to Shine cricket session. She showed early promise and followed that by regularly playing at her local club, Knowle and Dorridge Cricket Club. Within a couple of years she had gone from having never played the game to being selected for Warwickshire Under 11s.
Shrewsbury School followed, where Wong continued to develop her game, and in 2019, after impressing through the age groups, she made her senior debut for the Bears. Later that year, she was part of the Warwickshire squad that triumphed in the Women’s Twenty20 Cup.
That was Wong’s first taste of senior success. There has been plenty more since.
Senior success
Wong has 25 caps across all formats for England, taking 22 wickets. In T20 cricket alone, she has already claimed more than 100 wickets across domestic and franchise competitions worldwide.
Those wickets have translated into team success too, most notably with Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League.
In the tournament’s inaugural season, Wong played a starring role as Mumbai Indians were crowned champions, claiming three wickets in the final in a seven-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals.
Prior to that performance, she had already made history by becoming the first player to take a hat-trick in the WPL. In that tournament alone, across 18 appearances, Wong has taken 18 wickets at an average of 14.44.
From success in the WPL to spells in Australia’s Big Bash with Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Renegades, and a more familiar stage in The Hundred with Birmingham Phoenix, Wong has built experience against the very best in the world.
Wong’s impact has been clear, not only in the way she goes about her business on the field, but the personality she shows in doing it.
England open their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign at Wong’s home ground of Edgbaston against Sri Lanka on Friday 12 June. With ten days to go until the gates open at The People’s Home of Cricket for the tournament’s curtain-raiser, she will be doing everything possible to secure her place in the starting XI. If the first seven years of her career are anything to go by, she will be ready to make her mark when called upon.