England Women are on the hunt for a new captain for the first time in nine years.
Following the double sacking of Heather Knight and head coach Jon Lewis, the ECB will appoint an all-new leadership team before their next series against West Indies in May. After almost a decade of Knight rule, there is no clear consensus over who her successor should be. Here are the candidates who are likely in the running.
Nat Sciver-Brunt
England's best player and arguably the world's best allrounder is the front-runner for the job. As the current vice-captain and all-format mainstay, she ticks the baseline criteria. Equally, as the face of women's cricket in England and with a T20 World Cup on home soil around the corner next year, putting her front and centre of that campaign would make sense.
However, previous examples of Sciver-Brunt's leadership of the side when Knight has been unable to take the field leave reservations over giving her the role on a full-time basis. When Knight was out of England's Commonwealth Games campaign with injury, Sciver-Brunt took on the job. While England were successful in the group stage of the competition, they fell apart in the semi-final with particular challenges around on-field discipline.
Sciver-Brunt was also in charge when Knight's hamstring pinged during their final group game in the 2024 T20 World Cup. They memorably crumbled under the pressure of a rampant opening partnership and Jon Lewis came onto the field during the drinks break to re-establish order. The determining factor over whether Sciver-Brunt is given the role or not could be what kind of shake-up the next head coach, or the ECB, want to implement. As someone who has been in the side almost as long as Knight and throughout her entire tenure, she would be a continuity candidate over someone to oversee an overhaul.
ECB will appoint a new captain for the England Women's team following the side's 16-0 Ashes defeat in Australia.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) March 22, 2025
Heather Knight captained the side for nine years across 199 games. She will continue to be available for selection as a player. pic.twitter.com/q8JSAopw2H
Tammy Beaumont
Beaumont is perhaps an outside bet considering she currently only features in England's ODI and Test side, but there is scope for her both to be an all-format leader or one half of a split captaincy. She was in England's T20I side as recently as last year, and has consistently made runs in The Hundred, as well as developing her game as a power-hitter after being dropped from the shortest format side in 2022. While Beaumont has no previous international leadership experience, she could provide an option to be a short-term leader while younger players are groomed for a longer term role, especially given the proximity of the 50-over World Cup later this year.
Charlie Dean
Despite being only 24 and having less international experience than most other current international players in the running for the role, Dean has become one of the frontrunners. She has captaincy experience in The Hundred, at London Spirit in Knight's absence, and would mark a change of the guard to the next generation of leaders.
However, as a naturally reserved character, placing her in charge of big personalities in the group would be a worry. Equally, a criticism volted at Knight's tenure was her failure to completely impose her stamp on the side, as well as being drowned out by the rotating door of head coaches. Giving Dean the captaincy at this point in her career, before she's had the chance to hone her leadership skills further, could risk a repeat.
Sophie Ecclestone
While Ecclestone might be a slightly controversial candidate given her public run-in with Alex Hartley this winter, there is merit to the suggestion of her captaincy. Ecclestone is one of the first names on the England team sheet across formats and has previously been seen to take on unofficial leadership roles. She was a go to for Knight when setting fields for spinners, and looked to have taken over from Amy Jones on the field during the 2022 summer series against India.
There's also a hope that the extra responsibility would provide a focus for a cricketer who's been inked into England squads for almost eight years but is still only 25. However, given the perception of Ecclestone as the most senior of those whose fitness and focus was under a cloud over England's last two major assignments means that the timing for a captaincy announcement might not be quite right.
Amy Jones
Jones' place in the captaincy queue slipped back after her time in charge in 2022. With both Knight and Sciver-Brunt out of action, she took on the role for a series against India. Not only did England lose the series but Jones looked far from in control on the field, and didn't seem to enjoy the increased duties or scrutiny she came under. She would also be another continuity candidate.
Grace Scrivens
One of the most left-field suggestions is 21-year-old Scrivens, who is as yet uncapped at senior international level. Scrivens has long been touted as a future England captain, and led the U19s to the World Cup final in 2022. She was also one of the leading run-scorers in that tournament, and was given captaincy of Sunrisers (now Essex) aged just 19. Following Knight's departure, she was made captain of England A for their ongoing T20 series in Australia, perhaps a nod to where England see her future.
However, appointing an uncapped young player as senior captain is unnecessarily risky. Scrivens has yet to test herself against the best in the world or nail the domestic T20 format. Exposing a young player to that kind of pressure borders on unethical, and while she might be one for the future, promoting her at this stage would be rushed.
Hollie Armitage
Armitage will captain the 50-over part of England A's series in Australia. While a much more experienced player, appointing her wouldn't be too far beyond the Scrivens mould. She's previously captained Yorkshire and Northern Diamonds, and has six international caps under her belt. However, she's never been named in a senior England squad when all of their core players have been available. Her leadership skills aside, appointing a player who may constantly face questions over their place in the side is also risky, and would require a space to open up in a largely settled top six.
Kate Cross
Cross would be another candidate to select with an eye to the World Cup in September. One of England's most recognisable and experience faces, she captained the side in Ireland last year in the absence of the T20 World Cup group. While there may be scope for her to come back into the T20 side, she would likely be preferred in a split-captaincy capacity. A potential pitfall of her captaincy would be fitness. Cross has struggled with injuries with increasing frequency during this phase of her career, and was unable to play any part in the Ashes.
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