Bears Women Issy Wong and Katie George can “add variety to England’s future pace attack” according to the head of new national bowling programme.
Wong and George are among six seamers recently selected by England Women to form part of the Pace Bowling Performance Programme to develop quicks currently outside the core England Women central contract list.
England Women Performance Pace Bowling Coach Chris Liddle leads the scheme as Head Coach and oversees regular camps at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough.
The purpose of the programme is to develop a wider group of pace bowlers that enables England Women to inspire through on-field performance and thrive on the international stage.
“It’s been a great to get the pace programme up and running this winter,” said Liddle.
“I feel we have selected an incredibly talented group of bowlers who are all at different stages of their development but more importantly have the potential to add variety to England’s pace attack in the future.
“We’ve put a really strong programme together to develop the players in every aspect of their game and supported by coaches who are all aligned to how we want to progress these players over the winter.
“I’m really pleased with the early progress of this year’s intake and the way they have embraced the programme and changes asked of them.”
Ryana MacDonald-Gay (Surrey) and Grace Potts (Lancashire), who were both called up to England’s senior Test squad for the recent tour of South Africa, are also part of the cohort alongside fellow Surrey players Emma Jones and Alexa Stonehouse.
Richard Bedbrook, Head of England Women Performance Pathways, added: “We anticipate that the pace department is one area of the game where building depth is crucial and already this winter that has borne fruit.
“The pace programme has really presented the players with an environment that not only inspires them to keep striving for their personal ambitions but also looks to fast-track their development with the close individualised support of key coaches across all disciplines of the game.
“We are thankful to the various counties with players involved at this time for supporting the programme and trusting how the collaboration of the players development plans can work.”
Wong and George are part of a 15-player Bears Women squad that will fight for trophies on three fronts in 2025 as part of a new-look national women’s game.
They will compete in the Vitality Blast T20, Metro Bank One Day Cup, and for the first time a knockout competition featuring sides from all three tiers of the national system.
To find out more and register your interest in Bears Women visit Bears Women 2025 – Edgbaston.
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