England have announced their squads to tour Ireland in September and to contest the World Cup in UAE in October – with one notable omission.
Despite the fact that the Ireland squad seems tilted towards experience over youth (Georgia Adams and Mady Villiers are both included, while Kate Cross will captain), England coach Jon Lewis confirmed on Tuesday that Kirstie Gordon has opted out of the tour:
“We had a discussion with her, around multiple different scenarios that could play out for her in the future.”
“We came to the conclusion that the right thing at this point in time was to focus in on playing domestic cricket and then potentially come and play for England further down the line in other series or tournaments.”
Gordon already has 6 England caps, but the key factor was probably that the Ireland tour directly clashes with the last group-stage match and the semi-finals of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.
With Blaze currently in fifth place and all still to play for, Gordon is likely focused on ensuring that her team, the Blaze, have the best chance of winning the last ever RHF.
Interestingly, though, it seems that her conversation with ECB Director of Women’s Cricket Jonathan Finch also involved proud Scot Gordon raising the question of a possible return to her home nation. “I’m pretty sure [Scotland] was [part of the conversation],” Lewis said.
Gordon last represented England in July 2019 and, under ICC regulations, would now be immediately eligible to play for Scotland should she choose to do so.
Lewis, though, said that England have promised Gordon a return to England colours “down the line in other series or tournaments” – presumably as a nice carrot to prevent her head being turned by the historic chance to represent Scotland in their first ever World Cup appearance.
