'A superstar in the making' - teen's journey from dog-sitting to World Cup

'A superstar in the making' - teen's journey from dog-sitting to World Cup

For Tilly Corteen-Coleman, it is fitting the phone call confirming her place in England's T20 World Cup squad came while she was walking her dogs.

The 18-year-old has four canine companions, described in her own words as her "biggest cheerleaders" - alongside her parents, of course.

A prodigious left-arm spinner, who is still uncapped at international level, Corteen-Coleman is the only new face in England's squad as they prepare for a home World Cup this summer and begin their quest for a first trophy since 2017, when Corteen-Coleman was just nine.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) shared a video on their social media pages of head coach Charlotte Edwards delivering the news to the teenager, who admits she was in complete disbelief.

"It was a complete whirlwind," Corteen-Coleman told BBC Sport. "It all happened so quickly, I was so emotional. There's always that glimmer of hope but honestly, not one part of me thought I'd be in that squad, it's so competitive.

"I just went straight to my parents, ran in jumping up and down to tell them. It's crazy, I can't really remember because of how quickly it all happened and how excited I was."

Corteen-Coleman, 18, in England T20 World Cup squad

Corteen-Coleman's rise to England honours has been a rapid one.

She speaks with an endearing giddiness about it, but the World Cup call-up is the latest accolade after she earned a £105,000 deal in The Hundred to stay with Southern Brave after a bidding war at March's auction.

She made her debut for Brave as a 16-year-old in 2024 and as maiden wickets go, the scalp of legendary former Australia captain Meg Lanning is a decent name.

Edwards was Corteen-Coleman's Brave coach at the time, and the youngster feels her journey has come "full circle" as the former England captain also presented her with her first cap for Kent under-11s.

Brave captain Georgia Adams is another who has had a front row seat for Corteen-Coleman's remarkable progression.

"Tilly is one of the most refreshing young cricketers I've ever worked with," said Adams. "She has got a really wonderful balance of just being a kid, in a lovely and sweet way, but also being really mature for her age.

"So much has happened for her in the past two years but she is still the exact same Tilly as she was on her first day of training. That is one of her biggest strengths, being so humble and genuine - I think more people in the world should try to be more Tilly. She is a superstar in the making."

Naturally, Corteen-Coleman's adoration of dogs was also part of her integration into the Brave set-up, as she begged Adams to bring her energetic English bulldog to the team hotel during The Hundred so that she could be his dog-sitter and keep him from mischief.

Corteen-Coleman reacts to T20 World Cup call-up

An interesting quirk to Corteen-Coleman's selection is that she is one of three left-arm spinners, with England already boasting Sophie Ecclestone and Linsey Smith.

It presents a selection dilemma for Edwards, with off-spinner Charlie Dean an almost nailed-on pick in the starting XI as vice-captain, and with Ecclestone being one of the world's best, it is likely to be a straight shootout between Smith and Corteen-Coleman.

So how do the three compare, and what could Corteen-Coleman offer as a point of difference?

Ecclestone is the tallest of the three and has mastered her craft of using the extra bounce she generates from a release height of 2.2 metres, while Smith delivers the ball from 1.8m. Corteen-Coleman, who has a release point of 2m, sits in the middle to give captain Nat Sciver-Brunt plenty of variation.

There is little difference in pace, with all three hovering around an average of 50mph, and it is unsurprising that Ecclestone leads the way in the amount of drift, turn and control she gets.

Corteen-Coleman (1.75 degrees) turns the ball far more than Smith (1 degree) who relies on drift, which makes her such a success in the powerplay - a role that both also fulfil in domestic cricket.

In their T20 careers, both Smith and Corteen-Coleman have bowled just under 40% of all their deliveries in the powerplay.

For England, Smith has taken 11 wickets in the powerplay in T20Is at an average of 16.54 and economy rate of 5.87. In 14 games for Southern Brave, Corteen-Coleman has taken seven wickets at 16.42 with the new ball.

The vast majority of her T20 wickets have been recognised batters, with just three of her victims batting at numbers eight to 11. In contrast, she has taken 23 wickets of batters between numbers one and three at an average of 21.39, and 17 wickets of numbers four to seven at 22.58.

There is also an element of the unknown about Corteen-Coleman in international cricket, which she hopes could work in her favour.

"I challenge both sides of the bat and I really like performing under pressure," she said.

"Being around Linsey and Soph will be super helpful to me. They're two of the best in the world so even if I don't get to play, just being around them will be huge for my development.

"I'm quite a curious person, so I ask them a lot of questions and pester them about things – they're probably sick of me but there's going to be a lot more of that to come now!"

And, finally, for those wondering about Corteen-Coleman's four dogs - she has a chihuahua who is 12, a pug, and two sausage dogs crossed with chihuahuas.

Just imagine the family photo if England were to win the World Cup at Lord's in July.

Data provided by CricViz analyst Jem Green.

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