Sophia Dunkley is an English cricketer who plays for the England women’s cricket team. In county cricket she played for Middlesex until joining Surrey in 2020. On June 16, 2021, she became the first black woman to represent England in Test cricket. In 2023, she was acquired by the team, Gujarat Giants, to participate in the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL).
Wiki/Biography
Sophia Ivy Rose Dunkley was born on Thursday, July 16, 1998, in Lambeth, Greater London, United Kingdom (age 25; as of 2023). Her zodiac sign is Cancer.
Sophia Dunkley childhood photos
She was an only child in a single-parent family in north London, growing up with her mother. She started out playing football and was later introduced to cricket by her neighbor Zach Carr. In an interview, while talking about her unconventional route into cricket, she said:
He was one of my best friends growing up. We used to live in a cul-de-sac so we could play outside. We joined a club together, a boys’ club, and that’s where it all started. “
Carr then took Dunkley to Finchley Cricket Club for cricket training, where she began her fledgling career in the club’s men’s team. At the time, Dunkley was unaware of women’s cricket. She discovered women’s cricket when it was suggested she join the Middlesex Girls’ Under-11 trials. In 2009, her mother’s connections to Mill Mountain School helped her secure an athletic scholarship there. She later took the field with the boys at Mill Mountain as the only girl. She studied for a degree in Exercise Science at Loughborough University.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′3″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family and race
She is a black woman.
Parents and siblings
Sophia Dunkley’s mother, Caroline, is a music artist manager and booking agent. Dunkley was an only child and was raised by his mother alone.
Sophia Dunkley and her mother
husband
She is unmarried.
Profession
Domestic
She played at Finchley Cricket Club and went through the youth pathway before joining Middlesex. She entered the under-11 age group of the Middlesex County system and played in various age groups up to under-19s. She made her debut for Middlesex County at the age of 14 in the 2012 Women’s Twenty20 Cup against Sussex. She scored two runs and took two wickets in the match. Dunkley earned the Middlesex Girls Sun Garden Center Most Valuable Player Award for the 2019 season after scoring 323 points in the Middlesex girls’ first four girls county championship games.
Sophia Dunkley receives cash reward after becoming Middlesex Women’s Sunshine Garden Center’s 2019 season MVP award
She was the run-scoring leader in the 2019 Girls County Championship with 451 runs. In 2020, she left Middlesex to play for Surrey. She represented Surrey Stars in the Women’s Cricket Super League (WCSL) (also known as the Kia Super League (KSL)) in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and played for Lancashire Thunder in the 2019 season. The 2018 WCSL was her best season as she took 6 wickets and scored 98 runs, including 66 against the Southern Vipers. She also took a wicket in the Championship final against Loughborough Chargers, contributing to Surrey Stars’ title win.
Surrey Stars pictured after winning the 2018 KSL Championship
She represented the Southeast Stars in the 2020 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. She plays for Southern Brave in the 2021 and 2022 Top 100 seasons.
Sophia Dunkley plays for Southern Brave
International
She made her debut in a T20I match against Bangladesh on 12 November 2018 at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Grosse Ile, Saint Lucia. She was selected in the England squad for the 2018 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 tournament, where her team finished runners-up after Australia defeated England by 8 wickets. In February 2019, Dunkley was selected for England’s match against India and Sri Lanka; she took her first international wicket in the second Twenty20 match against Sri Lanka.
Sophia Dunkley in action
Dunkley was offered her first central contract with England Women’s Cricket Team in June 2021. She made her Test debut against India on 16 June 2021 at Bristol County Ground, becoming the first black woman to represent England in Test cricket. She made her ODI debut on 27 June 2021 against India at the Bristol County Ground. In the next match, she scored WODI’s first half-century. In February 2021, Dunkley was selected for England’s tour of New Zealand, where she played in all three T20Is and scored 26 runs from 29 balls in the final game of the series, helping England win by 32 runs. Dunkley has been named in the England squad for the Women’s Ashes Cup in Australia in December 2021. She was part of the England team that finished runners-up at the 2022 Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.
Sophia Dunkley plays for England during the 2022 Women’s Cricket World Cup
Dunkley scored his maiden hundred in the second WODI match against South Africa in July 2022 with a score of 107 runs. She has since been selected for the England team to participate in the cricket tournament at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
Women’s T20 Challenge
She represented the Trail Blazers in the 2022 Women’s T20 Challenge.
women’s premier league
In 2023, she was bought by franchise team Gujarat Giants to play in the inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL). Dunkley smashes fastest half-century with 18 deliveries in WPL against Royal Challengers Bangalore
Sophia Dunkley plays for Gujarat Giants
Awards
- PCA Vitality IT20 Women’s Player of the Summer (2022)
Sophia Dunkley poses with PCA Vitality IT20 Women’s Player of the Summer (2022)
Facts/Trivia
- She is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm leg batsman.
- Her England jersey number is #47.
- She occasionally drinks alcoholic beverages.
Sophia Dunkley (third from left) enjoys a glass of champagne after winning the PCA Vitality IT20 Summer Women’s Players (2022)
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education